Dark Secret
by ShutUpAndPaddle
Summary: Old ghosts are drawn from the closet and begin to mix things up for Horatio, Zoe and Eric. Love, trust and friendship are shaken from the foundations as Eric receives the shock of his life. (Last time Zoe is the victim, I know readers want to see Horatio as the victim!). Warning: Some moderate language.
1. Chapter 1

**Dark Secret**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Horatio woke one morning of the 19th week and felt Zoë wrapped around him as tightly as she could be without waking him. He turned his head to her and saw that she was wide awake, he knew she'd been crying at some point as he could see it in her eyes. He blinked a few times and softened his tired eyes to look into hers.

"Morning beautiful" Horatio said softly and she gave him a small smile as she blinked a few times. She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes again as she looked into his eyes so closed her eyes briefly to try and gain some control.

"Morning handsome" she replied quietly as she moved closer to him and looked back into his serene, welcoming eyes. She wrapped both of her arms around him and hugged him as closely as she could. He saw her eyes welling and then tried to quickly comfort her by lightly rubbing her back and nuzzling her nose. "We lost her today… at this point in the pregnancy." Zoë cried as she slowly sat up and let go of him. She shook her head as she placed her hands against her face and bit her lip while she continued to sob. Horatio sat up with her and moved to sit behind her as he wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on her shoulder. His inner thighs touched her hips and outer thighs as he placed both of his hands on her belly. She continued to have her head bowed forwards though while her hands covered her face. Horatio lightly kissed her shoulder as he lovingly rubbed her belly with extreme delicacy.

"You're safe, I've got you. I'm not leaving you at all. I promise you Zoë." Horatio said quietly as he removed one hand from her stomach and began to play with her hair lightly. He placed his mouth and nose against her shoulder and nuzzled her fondly. She swallowed when she felt his gentle, warm breath move over her shoulder which caused the hairs on the back of her neck to rise. "You're all safe, I promise," Horatio said softly but with confidence and determination. She lightly nodded and tried to calm herself down as she removed a hand from her face and placed it on her knee while she wiped the tears with her other hand and leant back against Horatio, using him as support.

"Please don't leave me Horatio." She begged as she looked down at the cream coloured sheet between her legs.

"I'm not going to leave you sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he removed his hand from her hair again and placed it back over her belly.

"I don't want to go out and I don't want to see anyone today. Can we just stay in, please?" She asked as she tried wiping the falling tears but they were still flowing too quickly for her to catch them all.

"Yes beautiful, we're staying in all day, just us." Horatio said softly and then felt her take a deep breath as she nodded. She then moaned as she sat up straight and began to rub her left leg with both hands. "Cramp?" Horatio asked and she nodded as she continued to sob, her tears fell to her thighs and sheet while she tried to soothe her painful leg. Horatio moved from behind her and gently laid her back down and stretched her leg for her. Horatio remained silent for a moment while he concentrated on easing the cramp while Zoë's sobs quietened down as well.

"Better?" He asked and she nodded as she pressed her lips together and swallowed.

"I hate leg cramps." She mumbled as she wiped the last of her tears away.

"I know sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he rubbed both of her legs affectionately.

"I'm sorry Horatio; you don't want to be waking up to your wife crying." She said as she placed her hands over her belly and furrowed her brow at him while he moved away from her legs and sat up nearer her head while he placed one hand over her belly too.

"Don't apologise sweetheart." He said as he rubbed her cheek with the pad of his thumb as she looked up at him with tired, red and worried eyes.

"What if the same thing happens, Horatio?" She questioned before she burst into tears again and covered her face. Horatio stopped rubbing her cheek and then lightly ran his hand through her hair.

"It won't sweetheart, I promise you, both back and front doors are double locked, they'll triple lock if Skyler suspects a threat, not even SWAT can get through them." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she swallowed. She began to rub her lower stomach as she could feel it aching while she calmed herself down again. "Shall we go and get something to eat and then you can have a warm bath?" He asked softly and she nodded. He took her hands and helped her up slowly. She sat on the bed and quickly wiped her eyes once before she let go of one of Horatio's hands and placed her hand on her lower back to begin to rub lightly.

"My back is really starting to hurt, when we go to the shop next, can we get some deep heat?" She asked quietly and he nodded as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Try and take long deep breaths sweetheart." Horatio said softly as she became breathless again.

"You experience a baby kicking your lung." She said softly with a small smile and then watched the smile appear across Horatio's face as he lightly chuckled when he saw her eyes light up.

"Slowly" he said as she got up and she nodded.

"Come with me please?" She asked and he nodded and walked with her through to the en-suite so she could go to the loo. It was clear she didn't want Horatio to leave her side for a second, but he didn't complain, because he had the same worry at the back of his head, eating at him too. But he didn't allow it to manifest itself visibly as he knew that would only make Zoë far worse. "Thank you Horatio." She said softly and he gave her a smile and then went to the loo himself as she washed her hands. They went downstairs and got themselves a glass of orange juice.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Horatio asked softly as he turned to her with a gentle smile.

"Pancakes and some strawberries, please." She said softly and he nodded as she sat down at the counter and rubbed her stomach. She sipped her orange juice as Horatio nodded and then got on with making breakfast. She watched him with a dreamy smile as he whisked the mixture together. She finally felt calm in herself and safe in that Horatio was there to protect her, even though the thought of losing Maya at that stage of the pregnancy still had her emotions whirling around inside. She took a deep breath and leant forwards on the counter with a peaceful smile as her eyes dropped to Horatio's ass.

Suddenly, she sprang back off the stool as her heart rate rocketed to the sky after her phone made her jump when it began to ring. Horatio quickly turned and dropped the bowl to the side before he wrapped his arms around her as she was about to slip on the floor as she dropped the orange juice. He held her up against him as she hyperventilated and trembled beneath his hands.

"It's your phone sweetheart, you're okay." Horatio said softly as she took a deep breath and nodded as she briefly closed her eyes. She instantly calmed down and stood on her own two feet as she swallowed and nodded up at Horatio.

"It startled me, I'm sorry." She said quietly and Horatio nodded and then released her.

"It's okay sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he turned back to pick the bowl up but quickly turned back to Zoë to keep his eyes on her while she took a deep breath and stepped forwards towards the counter. She picked up her phone which assured Horatio that she was completely fine again and he turned back to get on with the breakfast, but listened to every noise he could. She picked up a sponge and answered the phone at the same time. She put the phone between her ear and shoulder as she swept the small amount of orange juice from the counter work surface. Horatio glanced back often.

"Hello?" She asked softly as she slowly crouched and wiped up the orange juice from the floor.

"I'll do that sweetheart." Horatio said softly after he put the bowl down and crouched in front of her. She lightly shook her head and tenderly pushed his hand away and continued to do it herself. Horatio stood back up and allowed her to do whatever she pleased.

"Yeah, I'm okay, so is Horatio, thank you Joe. How about yourself?" She said softly as she pulled the disinfectant from the side to get rid of the sticky feeling on the floor.

"Yes, I'm okay… I know I've been quiet this week." She said as she stood back up slowly and threw the sponge into the sink as she leant against the counter. Horatio glanced back when he heard a hint of firmness in her voice and saw that she looked slightly frustrated.

"It's my 19th week, Joe, you do the math." She said slightly bitterly as Horatio looked round to her again and swallowed. Zoë then exhaled heavily as she raised her other hand to her face before running her fingers through her hair.

"There's no need to apologise, it's fine sweetie. I'm sorry I didn't mean to get snappy." She said softly as she looked down to the floor and crossed her free arm across her chest.

"No, please don't. I don't want to see anyone today, today is the day it happened in the last pregnancy and I don't want to go out or see anyone if that's okay?" She asked as she wiped her eyes again and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I'll see you sometime next week though, or at the weekend." Zoë said softly as she swallowed and looked up at the ceiling to try and push the tears back.

"Yeah, okay Bunny." She said softly before she pressed her lips together.

"Okay see you sometime soon, we love you back." Zoë said softly and then hung up. She took a deep breath and then placed the phone on the side and looked over to Horatio as he turned back to her.

"Okay?" Horatio asked warmly and she nodded.

"Just making sure everything was in order." Zoë said softly and then moved to sit back at the counter as she poured herself more orange after picking the glass up that hadn't smashed. Horatio then put a plate of pancakes in front of her and then put a bowl of strawberries between her seat and his on the counter. "Thank you, Kitten." She smiled warmly as he turned around with his plate of pancakes.

"Not too much syrup." He said softly and she nodded but continued to squeeze the bottle all over the pancakes. "I think that's enough." Horatio said softly as he quickly took the bottle from her hands and put a little on his pancakes with a small boyish smile. She smiled up at him sweetly and he couldn't tell her off as she gave him the innocent, cute expression she'd mastered. He knew she'd mastered that facial expression and he knew she knew that if she pulled it, she usually got her own way. He then looked down at his plate and took a bite from the sweet pancakes while her smile developed into a grin with a light chuckle.

"I think our girls will learn to wrap you around their little fingers from the age of 2." She grinned at him and he chuckled as he looked up at her. He didn't want to accept that as true, but he knew it was more than likely the true outcome. '_He'll be extremely protective, but will be wrapped around their little fingers like a piece of string, I know it.'_ She thought to herself with a smug smile as she took a bite of her very sweet pancakes that caused her mouth to water more.

"Hmm… I think you're right, but I think you'll be wrapped around their fingers too, maybe not so much, we're just going to have to have a son next so he can wrap you around his little finger too." Horatio replied with a boyish smile as he looked up at her.

"Woah slow down tiger, I've still got these two in my tummy, we can't be thinking about more babies yet." She smiled and he chuckled lightly with a nod. "I hope we have twin sons next though." She grinned and Horatio chuckled again as he raised his eyebrows.

"You want 4 children now?" Horatio asked as he gave her his full attention. He wouldn't mind 4 children at all, but thought that 3 was Zoë's limits.

"Well, I wouldn't mind 4 children at all." She said softly and Horatio smiled with a nod as he glanced down at his pancakes.

"It would be nice to have two sons as well though." Horatio said softly and she nodded as he looked back up to her.

"Yeah, two daughters and two sons… you know, I'm starting to think that your… stuff is full of X chromosomes instead of Y chromosomes though… so far in the real world and dream world we've had girls." Zoë said warmly with a tender smile and Horatio laughed softly with a nod, he was starting to think the same thing. Once finished they went upstairs and into the bathroom, Horatio shared the bath with Zoë and rubbed her stomach as they soaked.

"Can you feel them kicking?" She asked softly as she relaxed her head back on his shoulder.

"Yes, it's really light though." Horatio said softly before he kissed the side of her head and Zoë nodded.

"I'd imagine they'll get a lot stronger in the next few weeks." She said softly and Horatio nodded. They got out and changed, Zoë wore Horatio's jogging bottoms and t-shirt as it made her feel a little better and fit better than her jogging bottoms. They relaxed on the sofa for a few hours in each other's arms.

"Are we going to have them christened?" Horatio asked softly and she nodded.

"I don't want to talk about that just yet though… can we talk about it tomorrow or something?" Zoë asked softly and he nodded as he lightly rubbed her stomach.

"Of course sweetheart" Horatio said softly as he kissed her temple. She then turned her head when she heard a knock at the door. She swallowed as her heart rate shot through the roof.

"Horatio!" She began to panic as she shot up and jumped to her feet and began to move away from the living room door and then doubled over when she felt the sharp pain on her lower abdomen. Horatio quickly got up himself and rushed over to her as she tried her best to rub her stomach.

"Sweetheart, it's okay, it's okay sweetheart. It's just someone knocking at the door." Horatio said as he moved closer as she stood back up and took a hold of his sleeve as she looked over to the door to the living room.

"Horatio! Don't let them take us!" She cried hysterically as she hyperventilated and panicked frantically. "Horatio please!" She screamed as he wrapped his arms around her. He held her tightly and then put his hand in her hair to hold her head close to his chest and neck to cry and give her some sort of sense of security.

"No-one is taking you. You're safe." Horatio said softly as he rubbed her back and felt her stomach pressing into his as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "You're safe Zoë." Horatio said softly as he pulled his head back to look into her eyes as she moved her head to look up at him. He could see the utter terror in her eyes. "It's just someone at the door, you're safe." Horatio said softly and then saw a bead of blood about to fall from her nose. He quickly pulled tissues from his pocket and caught the blood with a warm expression. "You're okay." Horatio reassured her softly.

"No! It's happening again! It's happening again Horatio!" She cried hysterically as she pushed him away and ran to pick up a hidden gun from behind a bunch of books on the bookcase. She continued to hyperventilate as she turned around and took the safety off and looked over at the entrance to the living room.

"Zoë, sweetheart, no-one is going to hurt you." Horatio said as he moved closer to her again and reached out to her with a tender expression. He watched her rapid breathing and then stepped closer again. He quickly pulled her closer towards him and held her against him, but she still held her arm out with the gun in her hand. She pointed it to the living room door while Horatio felt her rapid breathing as her chest moved against his. Horatio swallowed as he took a deep breath. "Give me the gun sweetheart." Horatio said as he took hold of her wrist and looked at the gun while she held the tissue to her nose with the other hand. "Zoë, give me the gun please. You're safe, I promise you." Horatio said softly as he moved his hand to her hand and took a light hold of the gun. She exhaled a cry before he managed to pull it from her hand. He quickly put the safety on and held the gun behind his back as she fully turned to him and placed her head against his chest. "You're safe, see they've left now." Horatio said softly as he glanced out of the front window and saw a woman with a clipboard leaving. Zoë took a large deep broken breath against his chest while he continued to look outside for any potential threat as Zoë had him on high alert too. He then felt Zoë fall in his arms as her body relaxed which caused him to look back down to her. He dropped the gun lightly to a cushion on the sofa and then held Zoë tightly.

"Zoë?!" Horatio raised his voice and then lifted her when he didn't get a reply. He laid her on the sofa on her left side and ran his hand through her hair after checking her breathing and pulse. He held the tissue to her nose until she began to come around again when the bleeding stopped. His heart raced in his chest as he lightly rubbed her side.

"Mmm" she groaned as she moved and slowly opened her eyes. She swallowed and then looked at him with tired eyes as she blinked a few times.

"We're going to bed sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he lifted her up and walked upstairs with her. She exhaled a few moans and looked up at him while her vision still remained slightly blurred.

"Am I dreaming?" She asked softly as her eyes fixated on his red-hair while she took some deep breaths and continued to blink.

"No sweetheart, you've just passed out. I'm going to take these jogging bottoms off okay and then you need to get some rest, you've had barely any sleep this week." He said softly as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Please don't leave me; I don't want to lose our girls." She said quietly as she looked up at Horatio as he delicately placed her on the bed after kicking the duvet back. She exhaled heavily as she looked up at him, he could see that she was about to cry, he knew that her emotions were everywhere due to such lack of sleep, so much worry and because of what had just happened.

"I'm not leaving you sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he gently pulled the jogging bottoms from her hips, then off her legs. He then folded them and put them on the chest of draws and sat by her legs with a gentle smile. "Stretches first and then sleep, okay? I'll be in bed with you, don't worry. I promise you that you'll be fine." He said softly and she nodded as he helped her to stretch her legs so she didn't get cramp when sleeping. He then undressed down to his boxers and got into bed with her. He laid on her side of the bed so she could sleep on her left side and hug him as she was more comfortable on that side. He placed his arm around her and also held her close while she placed her head on his chest. He put the TV on low and watched it as he rubbed her back as he played with her hair and felt her fall into a deep sleep. '_At least the week is nearly over, it has been a scary week, she's done so well to get through it this well though. I am proud of her; I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult. It's not been easy, but it could have been so much worse.'_ He thought to himself as he kissed her forehead a few times. He nuzzled her forehead a little as he needed a little more comfort and closed his eyes as the scent of her fresh hair relaxed him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Horatio and Zoë sat on the sofa together once again.

"I can't believe I'm 20 weeks now! How amazing is that, Horatio?!" She questioned brightly.

"It certainly is amazing sweetheart." Horatio beamed at her.

"Do you think we should start baby shopping very soon now?" Zoë questioned warmly.

"I think it would be a good idea, yes." Horatio agreed warmly as he sipped his coffee. Suddenly she broke down in tears as she turned and rose to her knees. Horatio quickly leant forwards and placed his coffee on the coffee table and engulfed her in a warm, loving embrace.

"I love you so much Horatio." She cried into his shoulder.

"I love you all so much too." Horatio said as he began to rub her back. They held the hug for a few minutes until Zoë had calmed herself down considerably after the outburst due to nothing.

"Sorry Horatio." She said softly as she sat back and blinked a few times while she wiped her eyes.

"That's fine beautiful." Horatio said softly as he placed both hands on her stomach while she knelt between his legs and smiled warmly up at him. She swallowed and took a deep breath as she lowered her hands from her face and placed them on his thighs as he looked up at her with loving eyes.

"We still haven't discussed Godparents." She said softly and Horatio looked up at her and nodded lightly.

"Who do you have in mind?" Horatio asked softly as she sat back and reached over to the coffee table to take a sip of his coffee. She then sat back up straight and handed him the mug after she'd taken another sip. She tilted her head and looked indecisive.

"There are 4 people I've got in mind, I can't choose though." Zoë said as she looked at him while he sipped his coffee with one hand while he sat forwards and placed his hand on her stomach to feel the light kicking again.

"I think I know the 4 you're thinking of." Horatio said softly as he rested the coffee on his thigh and looked into her eyes with a tender smile.

"Joe, Eric, Kaitlin and Alexx." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded as he sipped the coffee again before he pulled her closer. "I understand if you'd prefer Alexx to be the Godmother, I know you don't know Kaitlin very well and she still lives in New York, so our girls won't see her as much." Zoë said softly.

"If you want Kaitlin to be the Godmother then that is fine, Zoë. I know Kaitlin well enough to trust her." Horatio said softly and she looked at him and bit her lip. She thought to herself for a moment as she looked into his eyes. He allowed her to think to herself but knew she'd already made up her mind.

"No, can we have Alexx as the Godmother please?" Zoë asked as she placed her hands over his hand that he had on her belly.

"Of course" he smiled brightly, he knew he would prefer Alexx to be the Godmother, but knew Kaitlin meant a lot to Zoë.

"It's even more difficult to choose between Eric and Joe." She sighed as she looked down at his coffee before she lightly moved his hand to the other side of her stomach to feel a stronger kick. He looked down to her belly and smiled widely as he felt the kick again. He then looked back up at Zoë and could see that she was genuinely struggling to choose between them.

"I know you want Joe to be the Godfather more than Eric and that's fine, I'd like it if Joe was their Godfather." Horatio said softly with a tender smile as he lightly began to rub her stomach.

"Yeah, but I feel like Eric is also a part of the family too. I know you're also closer to Eric than you are to Joe, this isn't just about me, it's about you too and you are much closer to Eric." She said softly and Horatio exhaled steadily as he removed his hand from her belly and lightly cupped her cheek while he tilted his head at her warmly.

"I personally think Joe should be the Godfather for them, Eric is a part of the family as well and always will be. Joe was always going to be the Godfather of any of your children, I know that. I know you only picked Wolfe with Maya because she wouldn't have seen Joe so much. Now he's down, he's going to see them a lot. I might be closer with Eric than I am to Joe, but that doesn't mean I'm not happy with Joe being their Godfather, I know that he'd always do right by them and you, I know you mean the world to him and he to you." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a bigger smile developing, she was happy to hear what Horatio was saying.

"Will Eric mind?" She asked Horatio softly as she tilted her head and lightly furrowed her brow.

"Of course not" Horatio said softly as he removed his hand from her cheek and placed it over her thigh and Zoë nodded.

"Eric can be called Uncle Eric though, I know it's not official or anything, but I want both Joe and Eric to be called their uncles as they both mean so much to me, and I know Eric means a heck of a lot to you too." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded with a smile while he sat forwards and placed his empty mug on the coffee table. "Did Eric know that Marisol wanted a baby and that you agreed?" Zoë asked softly as she placed both of her hands on his chest and moved forwards to straddle him on the sofa.

"I never told him, I'm unsure if Marisol told him." Horatio said softly and Zoë nodded with a tender smile.

"Okay, so Alexx and Joe are the Godparents." She smiled softly and Horatio nodded as he rubbed her thigh lightly. He looked very happy as he placed his other hand on her other thigh and rested his head back on the sofa while she leant closer. He could feel her belly against his which caused butterflies to flutter about in his stomach at the thought of her belly being big enough to touch his while she sat on his thighs. She lightly bit her lip when he saw the look she gets in her eyes when she's craving something.

"Can we go to an all you can eat Chinese restaurant please? I really want Chinese right now." She said softly and Horatio nodded with a smile.

"Don't over eat though; I don't want you being sick later." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she moved back off his thighs.

"I can't help myself sometimes." She smiled as she shrugged and Horatio lightly chuckled as he sat back up.

XXXXXXXX

Monday night of her 21st week, Zoë lay awake, feeling the movement of the babies while Horatio lightly dozed in bed. She bit her lip and looked over to Horatio, she wanted him to rub her stomach but he was dozing. She looked back to her stomach with a mischievous smile.

"Mmm" she moaned playfully and then looked back to Horatio as she bit her bottom lip again. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her. He exhaled a light contented moan as he moved closer to her and then placed his hand over her stomach as he knew that is what she wanted.

"They're pushing each other." She giggled as she looked down to him and placed her hand in his hair before she looked back to her belly and watched his hand lovingly rub it.

"You're cute." Horatio smiled up at her and she looked over to him and tilted her head with a curious look. "That playful moan you do is what you do when you want attention if I'm dozing or concentrating on something else. I know you do it for attention," Horatio smiled softly and she smiled shyly as she removed her hand from his hair and placed it over his hand on her stomach.

"They want their Daddy's attention too." She smiled and he chuckled as he felt a warm feeling move over his body. '_Daddy'_ he thought to himself as he smiled down at her stomach when he felt a large movement of one of the babies. "If you could really feel what I'm feeling, you'd be amazed, I think they're doing flips and what-not." She beamed at him and he chuckled.

"I wish I could." He said softly as he continued to rub her stomach.

"Can you pass me that spare pillow please?" She asked and Horatio nodded as he rolled over and picked up the pillow and then put it between her knees.

"Better?" He asked and she nodded.

"Thank you Kitten" she smiled softly as he turned onto his side and then nuzzled her nose before they both quickly fell asleep together. The next morning, they got up, showered and had breakfast.

"What are you up to today then?" Horatio asked softly as they sat at the island counter.

"I've got to go to the post office, but that's about it." She said softly and Horatio nodded while he sipped his coffee.

"Take it easy though, okay? Remember to put your legs up." He asked softly and Zoë nodded with a smile before she finished the last of her herbal tea.

"We will, we'll only be out for a little while. I will, don't worry Kitten." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded with a contented smile

"I'll try and get back as soon as I can." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she got up with him and walked to the front door with him. She hugged him and kissed him before he walked out and got into the BMW again. She went to relax for a little while before she went upstairs and changed into a pair of stretchy pair of jeans and a light t-shirt that hugged her belly comfortably.

"Come on you two, shall we go to the post office?" She asked and then felt a kick as she rubbed her stomach. "You both love the car, I know." She smiled as she picked up her handbag and then walked downstairs and picked up the keys and slowly got into the 4x4 Porsche after pulling her pair of vans plimsolls on and drove off.

XXXXXXXX

Eric was in the lab working alone, looking at the murder victim's clothes closely. He glanced up to see a woman with long blonde hair talking with a couple of officers in the hall. He then exhaled as he looked back down. '_She looks just like Calleigh, I should have told her how I felt, I shouldn't have let her walk away from me. All she wanted was to know that I liked her, that I wanted her. If I had told her, she'd probably still be here right now. We may even have had children of our own. We could have shared what Zoë and H have. Why didn't I tell her that I loved her? If I could go back in time I would.'_ Eric sighed to himself as he concentrated back on the victims clothes and sighed again.

"I'm so sorry Eric" a woman's voice said softly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Eric looked up when he heard the accent of the woman's voice and then frowned when he saw a someone who looked like Calleigh. He swallowed and stepped back from the desk, startled. '_Calleigh?'_ Eric thought to himself as he studied the woman and swallowed again. He blinked a few times and then looked back down to his work. He raised a hand to his head and rubbed one of his eyes with the heel of his hand as he frowned down at his work. '_I'm imagining things now. Am I missing her that much? I guess with everything that H and Zoë are going through now, it's making me want the same.' _ Eric thought to himself as he carried on with processing the evidence as best he could after he stepped back up to the desk. He took a deep breath and then shook his head and pushed everything away mentally to focus on the evidence in front of him.

"Eric?" The woman asked softly and he looked back up as she took a step forwards. His deep frown developed again as he rapidly blinked. He studied the woman's face. '_She's the spitting image of Calleigh.'_ He thought to himself.

"Calleigh?" Eric asked as he frowned even deeper once he stepped back again. He could feel himself becoming highly confused as the situation felt like it was becoming more surreal.

"Hi Eric" she said softly as a gentle smile formed and he looked at her as if he was seeing ghosts. '_I am seeing ghosts, aren't I?'_ Eric asked himself as he squinted at her.

"Am I dying? Am I experiencing some sort of fatal heart arrhythmia like Zoë?" Eric asked softly as he looked at her. He could feel his heart skipping beats in his chest while it pumped wildly. He genuinely thought he was experiencing what Zoë had experienced so many times.

"No, Eric. It's me, Calleigh. You're not dying." She said softly and he swallowed and then stared at her for a minute while the woman smiled softly at him, trying to judge his facial expression. She reached over the desk to place her hand over his but he quickly removed his hands from the desk. He swallowed again and then looked back down to his work as he took a deep breath. _'I am definitely seeing things.'_ Eric said to himself as he looked back at the light green shirt he was processing. "Eric, it really is me." The blonde woman said softly and Eric looked back up, looking slightly distressed. His emotions were beginning to toy with him as he became confused. '_I must be hallucinating, why? Why am I seeing Calleigh after so long?'_ Eric questioned himself when he began to experience the feeling of pain and loss all over again.

"How? You died, I saw your body, you didn't have a pulse. You're not here, I must be imagining this. The security guards are probably laughing at the CCTV right now because I'm talking to myself." Eric said as he looked back down at his work, trying to concentrate. He pressed his lips together with a firm expression while he firmly told himself that his mind was making it all up. The woman claiming to be Calleigh moved closer and placed her hand on Eric's arm lightly. Eric pressed his lips together more as his eyes wandered over to her hand before he looked back up and into her eyes.

"You're not crazy, Eric. I'm really so sorry, it's such a long story." Calleigh said very softly as she looked into his eyes and Eric's heart felt like it had stopped as he looked back into her eyes.

"No, you didn't have a pulse, Alexx did your autopsy, you are not here." Eric shook his head as he looked back down to the workbench with a set firm expression.

"I will tell you everything, Eric. But I need you to believe that it's really me first." She said softly but didn't get a response from him as he tried ignoring her. '_I think I need to go and see my doctor, he said that I could have hallucinations after that bullet to the head. This must be something to do with that.'_ Eric thought to himself as he picked the shirt back up and continued to examine it closely with a magnifying glass.

"Hey Delko, you got anything?" Walter questioned as he walked into the lab and past the blonde woman. '_Walter isn't seeing her, she must be my imagination!'_ Eric thought to himself as he swallowed and stood up straight. He looked to Walter and took a deep breath. '_I was seeing Speed at one point too, this will pass.'_ Eric thought to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"No Walter, the clothes are clean, if I hadn't seen our vic wearing these clothes I'd say they weren't even worn, not one fibre, not one speck of dirt." Eric said softly and Walter nodded.

"How about the wallet? I saw some lipstick on one of the cards when I checked earlier." Walter said softly and Eric nodded.

"I've given it to trace to see if they can find out what brand and make it is, hopefully it'll narrow our search down." Eric said softly and Walter nodded as he too looked down at the clean shirt before he looked up at the blonde woman.

"Hi, sorry, I'm Walter Simmons." He asked softly as he held his hand out to the woman.

"Calleigh Duquesne." She said softly as she shook his hand firmly. Walter mildly frowned and tilted his head.

"Wait, aren't you dead? Or am I getting my wires crossed?" Walter asked as he stepped away and glanced over to Eric with his frown deepening. '_I swear it was Calleigh Duquesne that died. Eric mentioned her before.'_ Walter thought to himself.

"You can see her, Walter?" Eric questioned and Walter's eyes widened a little. '_I thought she was my imagination, but Walter is seeing her too?'_ Eric questioned himself.

"Yes? I thought your friend Calleigh Duquesne died? Zoë put her killer away when you guys couldn't." Walter asked and Eric nodded silently. Both Eric and Walter stared at each other, confused and becoming highly freaked out.

"I'm not dead, I'm very much alive, I know you are very confused right now, but I must talk to you Eric." Calleigh said softly as she looked at Eric with a pleading expression while she furrowed her brow and Eric exhaled as he looked down. "I can explain." She added as she stepped forwards and placed her hands on the desk and Eric swallowed and then nodded. He looked up and over her shoulder at the lift and saw Zoë stumbling out. He felt his heart stop when he saw that she was covered in blood, holding her stomach and her neck. His jaw dropped open just as his heart felt like it had started again.

"Zoë!" Eric shouted as loud as he could as he dropped what he was doing and then ran out, nearly smashing the glass door on his way out. Calleigh turned around shocked and saw Zoë falling to the floor in the middle of the hall. Walter swallowed and came alive as he felt a burst of adrenaline rush through his bloodstream.

"Zoë" Walter shouted as he pulled his phone out and rang for an ambulance immediately. Calleigh stood in the lab, shocked as she raised her hand to her mouth. She saw that Zoë was pregnant and it was clear that she had been attacked. She watched Eric crouch beside Zoe and place his hand on her upper arm while he began to talk to her calmly. Calleigh blinked a few times as he watched Eric lean down and a little closer to speak to her quietly.

Calleigh felt a pit in her stomach while she looked over at them devastated, not only to see a pregnant woman in that state, but to see how caring Eric was towards her. She slowly made her way out of the lab and stood by the wall and watched Eric and Walter with Zoë. She couldn't bring herself to move any closer while she continued to cover her mouth.

"Don't speak Zoë, it's okay, you're going to be fine." Eric said loudly as he placed his hand on her forehead to prevent her from lifting her head as she looked up at him. She couldn't even cry she was so traumatised. She continued to hold her neck and stomach while blood seeped through the gaps in her fingers.

"H! Horatio!" Eric yelled as loud as he could as he looked over to the direction Horatio's office was in. "Horatio!" Eric yelled as loud as he could again and then saw Horatio step out of his office on the phone a few seconds later. Calleigh glanced over and saw Horatio drop his phone as he began to run over to Zoë.

"Zoë" Horatio called loudly as he continued to run over to them. He dropped to his knees on the floor beside her on the opposite side to Eric as Walter moved to Eric's side and placed his hand on her knee while he spoke on the phone calmly. "Zoë, Zoë sweetheart, it's me, it's Horatio. Don't touch her neck Eric." Horatio said when he saw Eric moving his hand to place his over her hand on her neck as he could see that it was bleeding a lot and required more pressure. Eric quickly moved his hand away from his neck as Horatio dropped his sunglasses to the floor and placed his hands on either side of her head and looked into her eyes as he leant over her. "Nice deep breaths Zoë. I'm here." Horatio said warmly as he moved one hand to cup her cheek. Horatio then looked up to see the lab had silenced as all lab techs and officers look over to the commotion on the floor. "Get an ambulance now!" Horatio shouted before he looked up and saw Walter on the phone a few meters from them.

"Ho–" Zoë rasped as she looked up at him and took a few broken breaths.

"I need to look Zoë." Horatio said softly as he moved her hand slightly from her neck and saw more blood ebb from her neck. He quickly pressed her hand back down on her throat and looked back up into her frightened brown eyes. "Okay sweetheart, I'm here, you're safe." Horatio said as he placed his hand over hers. He could feel his hands trembling as he felt panic beginning to take over everything he felt. '_Stay calm; she needs you.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he pushed his panic away and glanced down to her belly as he furrowed his brow and exhaled a breath full of worry. "It's okay sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he sat and replaced his right hand with his left on her neck as he reached over to the bottom of her t-shirt with his right bloody hand and pulled it up to see if she was badly hurt or bleeding from her stomach. She tried to lift her head to look up at him which caused him to look back to her. "Stay still sweetheart, I've got you." Horatio said tentatively as she put her head back down on the floor and looked up at him utterly terrified.

"Hora–" she tried to murmur dryly but he quickly stopped her as he shook his head.

"Shh, don't speak sweetheart, you're okay." Horatio said softly as Eric pulled a tissue from his pocket to catch the blood that she started to cough up. "Eric, help me to get her on her side." Horatio said softly and they rolled her onto her left side. Eric and Horatio then swapped sides so Horatio sat on her left so she could look up at him while Eric sat behind her. Natalia walked out of a lab and froze, she then ran over to the first aid box that was on one of the walls and ran over to them.

"H," she said as she crouched beside Eric behind Zoë and held out the first aid box. Horatio quickly took it from her and let go of her throat to rummage through the box frantically.

"Hold your neck tightly Zoë." Horatio said as he pulled out bandages. He then quickly removed her hand and placed them against the clean cut on her throat. He could see that the wound was about 3cm wide and knew that someone had held a knife to her throat and tried to slit her throat. The familiar sensation of the pit in his stomach returned and swallowed everything while he felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest. Zoë swallowed and exhaled steadily as her eyes began to close.

"Zoë, stay awake for me sweetheart, you're okay, I need you to concentrate on me." Horatio said loudly and she looked up at him with frantic eyes. He leaned down a little closer and gave her a reassuring expression. Calleigh watched a crowd beginning to form, formed of lab techs and patrol officers. Horatio looked up and saw the gathering crowd of people as he heard the sound of whispers. Horatio had noticed that Zoë was becoming more panicked as she looked around, which caused him to look around and notice the forming crowd.

"Move back! Give us space!" Horatio shouted as he looked around at everyone and people quickly walked away. Horatio then saw Calleigh and he froze, his jaw slacked lightly as her eyes connected with his just before he looked away and down at Zoë as he took hold of her wrist and took her pulse. He shook his head briefly before he looked back down to Zoë's face while Eric placed a hand under her head to try and make her more comfortable on the hard floor.

"You're going to be just fine sweetheart, I promise you," Horatio assured her warmly.

"I lov–" she began but couldn't manage anymore as she looked up at Horatio and moved her hand to place it over his thigh.

"Don't speak sweetheart you're okay, I have got you. I love you too, I love all 3 of you." Horatio assured her softly and quietly as he leant lower and made close eye contact. She nodded before she moaned and began to rub her stomach more after removing her hand from his thigh. Horatio then moved and placed his free hand against her stomach before he looked up at Natalia who was still crouched behind Zoë.

"Natalia, can we have just a little bit of space please?" Horatio asked gently and she moved back a meter or two and stood, it was obvious that she was concerned but knew she should keep away from them. The last thing Zoë wanted would be people standing around and staring. Horatio then looked to Eric who backed off a little after folding and putting his jacket under Zoë's head he knew he was too close for both of their likes. Horatio then bent down and placed his ear to her stomach as he looked at the floor.

"Zoë, are the babies moving?" Horatio asked as he looked back up at her but she began to cry as she closed her eyes. Horatio sat up and began to rub her stomach in an effort to disturb the twins so they'd kick as he couldn't feel anything. "Zoë, I need to know are they moving?" Horatio asked and she nodded as she pulled him back up and closer to her. He then finally felt a strong kick against his hand and sighed with relief. "You're okay, all 3 of you will be okay. I'm right by your side." Horatio said softly as he began to play with her hair as he looked down to Zoë with a tender, reassuring smile. Horatio looked to the lift just as two paramedics rushed in with their bags in tow and with a spinal board, collar and blocks. Horatio then looked back to Zoë with a tender expression.

"Ma'am, what's your name and how many weeks pregnant are you?" One of them asked loudly.

"21 weeks." Both Eric and Horatio replied at the same time as they looked to the two men in uniform. Zoë began to cry hysterically as she pulled Horatio closer and put her forehead against his as she held the collar of his shirt once she'd removed her hand from her stomach.

"Tell me," she gasped quietly.

"You're going to be fine, I promise you." Horatio said softly. "You're safe, I've got you now, nothing bad can happen to you now you're in my arms." Horatio said quietly and kept repeating calm words.

"Sir, can you tell me if she has any known medical conditions?" One of the paramedics asked Eric.

"She as asthma and has a pacemaker. It looks like her throat has been slit, or someone has tried to slit her throat. She's 29 years old and pregnant with twins." Eric said and they nodded at him and then looked at Horatio as he tried calming Zoe. Calleigh watched them all and was highly confused.

"Don't speak to them at the moment, you'll panic her, he needs to calm her first. She lost her last baby, so please be sensitive and watch your mouth." Eric said quietly and they nodded in understanding.

"What's her name?" They asked Eric.

"Zoë." He replied and they nodded. They watched her nod at Horatio as she released him slightly. She swallowed and furrowed her brow as she looked over at the paramedics.

"Hi Zoë, I'm Ron and this is Jon, we're going to check you over and get you to hospital, don't worry, we're very good paramedics even if our sense of humour can be a little odd." The blond man said softly as she placed her hand back over her belly. She pressed her lips together before she looked up at Horatio. "Jon is just going to take a look at your throat, is that okay?" Ron asked softly and she shook her head and raised her hand from her belly once again to pull Horatio closer.

"You can look, but do not touch her neck, okay?" Horatio asked softly and he nodded. Horatio slowly lifted the bandage and the paramedic nodded.

"Thank you sir." He said softly and Horatio quickly covered the wound again while he looked down at her tenderly and whispered her reassuring things. "3cm cut, it's caught her windpide, which is why there's blood coming from her mouth, there could still be internal injuries though." The dark haired paramedic said to the blonde and the blonde nodded as they both looked to her belly.

"Zoë, I'm going to feel your tummy okay? Try not to panic for me, nice deep breaths if you can. Sir, keep applying pressure to her neck, but don't put too much pressure on or you'll collapse her windpipe." Jon said and Horatio nodded as he glanced back to the paramedic. Horatio glanced back up at Calleigh and frowned before he looked back down to Zoë as he shook his head. '_I must be seeing things due to the stress of the situation.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he glanced back to Eric and saw him place his hand on Zoë's shoulder as she'd started to really panic as she looked up at Horatio and saw him slightly distracted.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, all is good, don't worry, I've got you," Horatio assured her warmly.

The paramedic moved to kneel next to Horatio and then pulled his stethoscope out and put his hand up her top to put the end against her chest.

"What's your normal resting heart rate at the moment?" The paramedic asked tenderly.

"Around 80bpm." Horatio said and he nodded while the other paramedic took Zoë's pulse. The paramedic then listened to her stomach with the stethoscope.

"Babies heartbeats sound good, so don't worry, okay?" He said softly and Zoë nodded as she tried to keep herself calm.

"Can I–" Zoë croaked frantically but couldn't finish her sentence as she began to cough up more blood.

"She'd like to listen herself, if that isn't too much bother? She's a first aid responder." Horatio said warmly to the paramedic who nodded and allowed her to listen. Zoë considerably relaxed and looked back up at Horatio with a small nod and gentle smile.

"I've got to cut your lovely t-shirt off if that's okay? I need to get a quick ECG recording before we get you back to the ambulance, okay?" He said softly and Zoë nodded.

"Some space please," Horatio asked as he looked back up to Natalia who nodded and then walked away. He looked over to Eric next and Eric began to move away.

"No" Zoë croaked as she shook her head she then gestured for him to just look away but remain where he was.

"Just look away," Horatio said to Eric and Eric nodded. _'She must be terrified, she might just need the extra security of Eric I guess._' Horatio thought to himself. Eric just looked away while Horatio often kept an eye on where his eyes were. _'Maybe she knows something and wants to keep Eric in her sight? She'd usually want her space?'_ Horatio asked himself just as the paramedic covered her with a light blanket.

"We're going to roll you onto your back very slowly okay?" The paramedic asked and she nodded again as she looked up at Horatio. Horatio caught Eric glancing up at Calleigh and grew more concerned as he thought he was just seeing her. Zoë took a deep breath as she pulled her hand from under Horatio's on the bandage which caused him to look back down at her.

"You're okay sweetheart, I'm here." Horatio said warmly as he placed his other hand on her shoulder while Eric placed his hand on her other shoulder too. Zoë pulled Horatio closer and continued to breathe deeply as Horatio held the bandages to her throat. She held him by his collar and tried to keep herself calm while the paramedics got a ECG reading. Horatio looked down at Zoë feeling horrible inside and frightened. Eric really felt for the both of them, he could feel their fear emanating from them.

"Ahh!" She screamed as she let go of Horatio and placed her hands over her stomach as she lifted her head. She let out a few moans as she rubbed her stomach and began to breathe rapidly and shallowly which sent Horatio's heart into what felt like a spasm.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"What pain are you getting?" The paramedic asked as he finished the ECG tracing and removed the wires while she rubbed her belly and frowned.

"Achey" Zoë gasped and he nodded.

"Okay, I'm going to feel again, okay?" He asked softly and she nodded as he felt her stomach. "Did you fall on your tummy?" He asked and she nodded while he continued to feel. "Okay Zoë, don't worry, we'll get you to hospital very soon and everything feels good." He said softly and she nodded.

She began to choke on the blood again so they quickly rolled her onto her left. They then transferred her onto the spinal board and strapped her on it on her side after covering her with another blanket as it was easier to get her out that way.

"I'll see you later at the hospital Zo, H is with you, hang in there. You're going to be fine, I promise you." Eric said softly but she shook her head frantically and then looked up at Horatio, he could tell that she was scared. "I've got something to sort out Zoë, I'm really sorry." Eric said softly but it was clear that she wanted him to go with them. Eric sighed and furrowed his brow before he looked back to Calleigh while Zoë took hold of Horatio's forearm and rubbed her stomach.

"Go with her." Calleigh said and Horatio glanced around to her and realised that it wasn't just him seeing things. Eric nodded and then helped to lift the board with Horatio and the two paramedics.

"Am I seeing things, Eric?" Horatio questioned quietly as he looked at Eric and Eric shook his head while the paramedics sorted themselves out before they began to walk. Horatio deeply frowned as he looked back round to Calleigh as she followed them to the lift, but kept her distance.

"Calleigh?" Horatio questioned feeling very confused as she looked at him with gentle eyes. She could see the distress in both Horatio's and Eric's eyes and knew that it was probably best to keep away while they boarded the lift.

"Long story, Horatio." She said softly and Horatio frowned. He shook his head and then looked down to Zoë and took her hand as he took a deep breath and fully concentrated on her. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand and gave her a reassuring smile and expression while Eric used his free hand to take another hold of the head of the board as Horatio had let go of it. She was easy enough to hold so Eric didn't mind and he knew that Horatio needed to keep her calm or it could turn out to be worse.

"Hang in there beautiful, we've got you." Horatio said softly as they stood in the lift while the doors closed. Calleigh turned away when the doors closed and left herself.

"I don't want to lose them." Zoë mumbled very quietly as she looked up at him. He raised his and her hand to his mouth and placed a delicate kiss on the back of her hand.

"We're not going to lose them sweetheart." Horatio said as he stroked the back of her hand again and she nodded as she took a deep breath.

"Hold still Zoë." Eric said softly as he looked up at Horatio and gestured for him to help take the board. Once Horatio had a good hold of it with his left hand while he continued to hold the bandages against her throat with his right, Eric removed one of his hands to her shoulder before he moved her hair.

"There's blood in your hair, can you tell me if this is your blood, Zoë?" Eric asked softly as Horatio glanced over to look at the blood matted into her hair.

"Not mine." She gasped and Eric pulled his phone out and texted Walter to meet them at the hospital with his kit. He then took a proper hold of the board again before Horatio let go to place his hand over her belly. His worry alleviated a little with each kick he felt.

"Did you manage to fight him off?" Horatio asked softly and she nodded as they walked out of the lift. As they walked, Horatio removed his hand from her belly and took hold of her hand.

"Tattoos" she said as she looked up at him and lightly squeezed his hand.

"He had tattoos?" Horatio asked and she nodded.

"Bald" she said softly and Horatio nodded down at her as he and saw beginning to lose herself to her emotions again.

"Okay sweetheart, try and stay calm. You're safe, I promise you." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she tried to take a few deep breaths but could feel her throat stinging. They arrived at the ambulance and loaded Zoë onto the bed after getting her to move from the spinal board to the bed. Eric and Horatio sat in the ambulance with her as she tried her best to keep calm. Horatio did a good job of keeping her calm while Eric did a good job of reassuring the both of them. Nathan met them at the hospital and took her through to majors. He pulled on a pair of gloves and moved closer after drawing the bed curtain around.

"I'm going to get a look at your neck, Zoë, okay?" He asked once other observations were carried out. She nodded but tensed. He was able get a look at her neck but she began to panic so Horatio had to take over and hold the bandage to her neck.

"Are the babies still moving around, Zoë? Can you feel them?" Nathan asked warmly as he checked her oxygen saturation and ECG again. She nodded at him but remained silent as he'd asked her not to talk due to the throat injury. Eric kept back behind the curtain, but remained in the cubicle with them as Zoë had requested it.

"Okay sweet, are you hurting anywhere?" He asked softly and she nodded and then rubbed her belly as she blinked with teary eyes.

"Can you point to where you're hurting on your tummy?" Nathan asked softly and she rubbed the majority of the right side as Horatio placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Just your right side?" He asked and she nodded up at him.

"He kicked me." She croaked and Nathan nodded as he began to feel her stomach while he looked at her with caring eyes. "You're doing really well okay?" He asked and she nodded as she looked up at Horatio who was watching Nathan's hands and expression alternatively. Zoë then looked back to Nathan as she began to worry again.

"Okay sweet, don't panic everything feels good." Nathan said softly and she took a deep breath and pressed her lips together before she coughed up more blood and lightly moaned because of the sore throat. Walter quickly walked through and handed Eric his kit and walked back out, he didn't even engage in any sort of conversation with either Horatio or Zoë as Eric had warned him to not as he knew Walter would somehow step in it.

"Zoë, may I come through to get a sample of the blood in your hair? It'll only be quick but I want to get it as soon as possible for the best result." Eric called softly through the curtain.

"Yeah, come in." She called and he slowly entered. He gave Horatio a shy, uneasy expression and knew that Horatio wasn't all that comfortable with it but knew it was a must. Eric then walked over to the other side of the bed beside Zoë.

"Hold still Zoë, it's not going to hurt. We might be able to identify him." Eric said softly and she nodded and then held still as she looked up at Horatio and took hold of his hand. Nathan had completely covered her once more while he got the sample and then walked back.

"Okay Zoë, I'm going to listen to the babies and then you're going to go straight down to theatre to sort your neck out, okay?" He asked softly and she nodded. Nathan then quickly listened to them and their heartbeats and gave her a gentle smile.

"They're both sounding really healthy, okay? So nothing to worry about." He said softly and she nodded with a small smile

"I'm going to put a cannula in the back of your hand and firstly you're going to feel very relaxed as I'm going to sedate you, then you'll be properly put to sleep down there, okay? You probably won't even be aware what is going on around you after I give you this sedative, okay? Don't worry, my best doctor friend is in on the surgery, your girls will be fine, they won't be affected at all, okay? I promise you, you are in the best hands this hospital has seen." Nathan said softly and she nodded and then looked up at Horatio with teary eyes. Nathan took her hand and then put the cannula in it and gave Horatio a nod and stepped back with Eric as they minded their own business while Nathan also drew back the bed curtain.

"I'm right here sweetheart okay? You're going to be fine, all 3 of you, I promise. I'll be there when you wake up, okay? I love you beautiful, I love you so much." Horatio said softly before he kissed her forehead.

"I love you" she croaked as she reached up and placed her hand in his hair before she pressed her lips against his and kissed him back. He kissed her once more and then pulled back slightly as she brought her hand down and placed her thumb against his lips when she saw that his lips were now bloody. She wiped the blood from his lips as he pulled out a tissue from his pocket.

"Don't worry sweetheart, it's fine." He assured her and she nodded. She then looked over to Eric while Horatio wiped his lips and he stepped forwards.

"Stay with Horatio, please." She begged very quietly as her mouth filled with more blood. She coughed it out and onto the white sheet below her whilst Horatio continued to hold the fresh bandages against her throat.

"I will, don't worry, we'll see you very soon. You're going to be fine, Zoë, you and your girls." Eric said softly and she gave him a nod and felt Nathan inject the sedative into the back of her hand. She looked up at Horatio and swallowed, a few seconds passed and she felt the effects of the sedative.

"Ring Joe, please?" She asked quietly as her head began to spin and Horatio nodded as he leant down and smiled reassuringly at her.

"I will, see you soon sweetheart, I love you." Horatio said softly as he kissed her forehead once more before her eyes closed.

"She's gone." Nathan said as he gestured to the nurses to come over. "If you could step back please Horatio." Nathan asked softly and Horatio stepped back as Nathan placed his hand over the bandage. Eric then called Walter back in handed him the kit back and told him to run the swab. Walter nodded and then turned to watch Nathan carefully place a tube in her mouth as nurses suctioned out the blood as her airway was becoming too compromised.

"I didn't think you were knocking her out here?" Horatio questioned with a frown as he placed one hand on her stomach.

"I've not knocked her out, she's just incredibly relaxed and sedated. Anymore sedation and I would have knocked her out, I couldn't do this if she wasn't so sedated. Really don't worry, Horatio; I know what I'm doing, she's in the best hands, I promise you that." Nathan assured him and he nodded as he looked back down to Zoë. Nathan then stood up and gave Horatio a reassuring smile before he looked to Walter who quickly walked out when he realised he was staring and gave Eric a nod.

"She should be in there for about an hour, it shouldn't take more than 2 hours, okay? Are you walking down with us?" Nathan asked softly as he swapped with a nurse as she pushed the air into her lungs while another nurse kept suctioning the blood out while she held the bandage. Horatio nodded at him as he took Zoë's hand and placed his other over her belly while they walked.

"The babies won't be harmed, will they?" Horatio questioned and Nathan shook his head.

"They'll be absolutely fine." Nathan assured him and he nodded before he looked back down to Zoë again.

They continued their journey down as Horatio continued with his worry and general confused feeling as he couldn't work out why or how that had happened in the first place or where. "She'll be fine Horatio, trust me." Nathan said softly and Horatio nodded while he swallowed.

"Thank you." Horatio said softly before Nathan spoke with the lead surgeon. He then turned and walked Eric and Horatio over to the waiting room where they both sat down after Nathan left.

"They'll be fine Horatio." Eric said as Horatio rubbed his face and leant forwards.

"How did this happen? Who would attack a pregnant woman in broad daylight? And for what?" Horatio questioned as he looked up at Eric. Eric could see that Horatio was highly stressed and distraught about the whole situation. '_I try my best to keep her out of danger, but it still finds her? How? She was just going to the post office! She wouldn't have ever been on her own! She would have been on the street at all times. It must have happened close to the lab though, what if she was attacked outside the lab? How could someone do that in broad daylight?'_ He thought to himself.

"We'll find out H, we'll get that son of a bitch." Eric said and Horatio nodded and looked up at him.

"How did no-one see her walking up to the lab? If you see a pregnant woman bleeding profusely from the throat, you'd run to help, wouldn't you? Or is that just me and my old-fashioned ways?" Horatio questioned, looking traumatised and genuinely confused before he looked back down at the floor as he pulled his sunglasses from his pocket to fiddle with them.

"I'd certainly run to help." Eric said as he shook his head as he looked down, he was pretty shaken himself and very confused. He then looked up at the wall opposite and ran both hands over his head and exhaled heavily. "This day couldn't get any worse, I'm so confused." Eric said and Horatio looked up when he heard the total bewilderment and slight anger in his colleagues voice.

"Did I really see Calleigh at the lab? Or was that me trying to distract myself from what was going on?" Horatio questioned as he tilted his head at Eric and clasped his hands together.

"I don't know H, I saw her, I spoke to her, she's insisting that she is Calleigh, even Walter spoke to her. I don't know what's going on. It can't be her; she died more than 2 years ago. It can't be her, H. But she even touched me. Is there such a thing as a mass hallucination?" Eric questioned and Horatio looked back down at his sunglasses in his hand and then rubbed his eyes with his other hand.

"It must be a very similar looking woman who's impersonating Calleigh, there is no-way that is Calleigh. I felt for her pulse twice to make sure she was really gone." Horatio said as he pulled his phone from his pocket as it vibrated. He sighed as he looked down at it and then ran a hand through his hair.

"Frank is asking if it's really Calleigh." Horatio sighed softly as he sat back and replied saying that he didn't know and that he was out. But he had no doubt that Frank had heard about what had happened by now.

"She sounded exactly like her though, she looked identical. It isn't possible to look so similar to her." Eric said softly as he leant forwards and looked at Horatio with confused eyes as he tilted his head.

"Did she have a sister?" Horatio questioned as he put his phone away and fiddled with his sunglasses again.

"No, she didn't. So I can't understand how someone can look exactly alike." Eric said as he looked up at Horatio.

"Any cousins?" Horatio questioned as they both tried to come up with a feasible explanation for the occurrence.

"Yeah, she must have had cousins, but cousins rarely look similar and never look that similar to each other." Eric said softly and Horatio nodded as he sighed lightly and looked back down to his sunglasses. They remained silent for a fair few minutes just thinking to themselves. "H there's something I want to bring up with you, I feel so guilty for looking." Eric said as he looked at Horatio. Horatio looked up at him and nodded as he pressed his lips together and calmly waited for Eric to speak.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"I looked at Zoë's back when she was on her side…I saw her back covered in scars. I shouldn't have looked, but I couldn't help it as I placed my hand on her side to keep her steady and looked down to make sure I was placing my hand in a comfortable spot and not touching anything I shouldn't be. The blanket wasn't covering her fully so after I saw, I pulled the blanket over her more. I'm really sorry H, I just couldn't keep that from you. I couldn't help it, I didn't mean to see that." Eric exhaled as he shook his head. Even his back began to sting as he thought about it. "I've guessed that her Dad was abusive, but did he really do all of that to her?" Eric asked and Horatio exhaled as he looked down. Horatio pressed his lips together and looked at his sunglasses in his hands as he ran the tips of his fingers up and down the slick metal frame. "I'm sorry if I've stepped out of line, H." Eric apologised as he looked at Horatio with wide eyes. '_I had to tell him though, I couldn't keep something like that bottled up. I do feel bad about looking, but it just wasn't possible not to look, I had to check to make sure I wasn't touching her anywhere I shouldn't be, I wouldn't have seen if the blanket was covering her fully. I didn't realise she was abused so badly... that is to do with abuse, isn't it? One accident couldn't have caused all of that.'_ Eric thought to himself as he swallowed.

"I am not saying anything on the matter, Eric." Horatio replied eventually as he looked up at Eric through his lashes before he looked back down past his sunglasses to his feet. Horatio took a deep breath and knew that if he said anything to Eric it could completely destroy Zoë, it was also something that he didn't want his colleague to know about his wife. '_If Eric found out about my past and my back, I'd be ashamed, I'd be embarrassed and I'd want to hide forever. Zoë must feel the same. I can't have Eric mentioning this to her, can I? If it were me and the roles were reversed, I'd want Zoë to make Eric keep it quiet from me. She's going to have to work with him again at some point, she won't be comfortable if she knows that he knows so much about her.'_ Horatio thought to himself.

"I'm sorry H, I just felt guilty knowing I'd seen her back and I thought I should tell you." Eric said softly and Horatio nodded as he looked back to his sunglasses before he ran a hand through his hair again. He then exhaled steadily as he glanced back up at Eric while Eric swallowed again, fearing he had stepped too far.

"Don't tell her, keep it to yourself and forget it. Do not say anything to anyone else about it, she'll find out and I can't be held responsible for how she reacts, but if I know her correctly, which I do... you'll come off worse than she will. Just forget it." Horatio said firmly and Eric nodded while he swallowed, he knew he'd stepped on something serious.

"I understand H." Eric said softly and Horatio sat back and rested his head against the wall while he gripped his sunglasses on his thigh. '_Can I really keep that a secret from her? It is in her best interest, she does look up to Eric, she thinks a lot of him, I can't let her lose anyone else because that is what will happen, she won't want to see Eric again, she wouldn't be comfortable around him. I'm sure she'd never talk to him again. I can't have them fall out. Most of all, I can't have Zoë getting upset.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he looked up at the ceiling. "Shouldn't you call Joe?" Eric asked softly as he looked up at Horatio. He wasn't sure if Horatio was just feeling horrible because of what happened to Zoë or because he'd upset Horatio slightly. Horatio took a deep breath and looked back down to Eric with a gentle expression.

"I'll ring him when I know she's okay. If I ring and say she's in theatre but don't know how she's doing he'll panic and probably end up in hospital himself from crashing his car." Horatio said softly and Eric nodded. '_From what I remember of Joe, I think it's likely that he'll panic actually. H is right.'_ Eric thought to himself. Eric then sat back and crossed his arms as a small smile appeared on his face as he looked at Horatio. Horatio looked to Eric and saw the smile and tilted his head before looking down to the floor, a little confused by Eric's smile.

"How does it feel to know you're going to have two daughters? What does it really feel like?" Eric asked softly and Horatio looked back up at him a little surprised that he was asking such a question when he thought Eric was going to ask more about Zoë's back. Eric saw the glimmer in Horatio's eyes as they lit up while a smile tugged at his lips before he looked down to his sunglasses to really think about the question. He leant forwards on his knees and looked back up at Eric with a blissful smile.

"It feels incredible, Eric, but it can also feel quite nerve wracking and scary. Zoë will be a natural at everything, she'll panic about things and about not doing things right, but I know she'll be doing everything perfectly. I know she's going to have to teach me to do everything, I still can't imagine myself changing a nappy and I can't even imagine holding our daughters. I've never really held a baby apart from getting one out of danger. I held Ray Jr a bit when he was a baby, but I never did anything. It's not going to be easy, I know, but life feels like it's just beginning, I only wish I had met her sooner." Horatio said softly and Eric nodded with a friendly smile.

"H, you're going to be a natural too, you know? What you just said about Zoë worrying about doing things wrong but actually doing them perfectly, I think that's what you're going to be like too. I think you'll worry, but you'll be a fantastic father. I've seen how you are with kids, you're very paternal naturally." Eric admitted with a kind smile as he leant forwards on his thighs to make steady eye contact with Horatio.

"Thank you brother." Horatio said warmly as he glanced down to the floor with a gentle smile. '_He's wrong though, Zoë will have to show me how to do it all. Babies and children are different. I'm only good with them because I can relate to how they're really feeling. They need someone to show them that there is light at the end of the tunnel and more importantly, they need to know that someone is there for them. Babies need everything, I'm sure I can be everything, but Zoë's going to have to show me the way.'_ He thought to himself as he pressed his lips together while a smile still tugged at his lips. "You're going to have to change nappies too, you know that don't you?" Horatio asked softly with a small secret smile as he looked back up at Eric while he raised his eyebrows at him. Eric sat back with a light chuckle as he smiled brightly at Horatio.

"Me… changing a nappy?" Eric questioned with raised eyebrows as he crossed his arms with a brilliant smile.

"Zoë will have you changing a nappy or two… she keeps calling you Uncle Eric at home." Horatio said softly with his secret smile remaining on his face and Eric chuckled again with his smile widening further. Horatio hadn't seen such a natural, happy smile come from Eric. He felt his heart warm slightly as he took a steady breath.

"Uncle Eric?" He asked and Horatio nodded at him with a smile imprinted on his lips, Horatio could see the sparkle in Eric's eyes.

"You're a part of the family Eric; Zoë was telling me the other day how much she feels like you're a part of the family. She was very close to choosing you over Joe to be the Godfather, if she had the choice, she would have had you and Joe as the Godfathers." Horatio said softly and Eric smiled shyly as he looked down, he felt a sense of honour to even be considered up against Joe. '_It must be because I'm good friends with H though?'_ He thought to himself as he looked back up to Horatio. It was clear that Horatio was feeling much better in himself since talking about his daughters.

"Is Alexx the Godmother again?" Eric asked softly and Horatio nodded.

"Don't tell her though, we've yet to tell the both of them, we've only just talked about it as Zoë wanted to leave it until after the 19th week." Horatio said softly and Eric nodded with an understanding smile as he sat back again and saw just how happy Horatio was despite the situation they were in. He'd even forgotten about the woman who was claiming to be Calleigh as he was so wrapped up in the happiness of the conversation.

"I'm so happy for you H; you're finally going to have your family and you deserve every moment of that, so does Zoe." Eric said softly and Horatio gave him a smile, he saw the longing in Eric's eyes for something along the same lines, but he also saw the disbelief in his eyes and knew that Eric was sceptical about ever having a family.

"You'll find someone soon Eric, you'll get over those weekly girlfriends and find that one that you want to settle down with and you'll have children. Sometimes it just takes a little longer, like in my case." Horatio said softly and Eric nodded as he looked up at Horatio with a kind smile. "You shouldn't have to wait so long though as you don't have this ugly mug." Horatio said softly and Eric chuckled lightly as he sat forwards again.

"When are you going to start decorating? I assume Zoë wants a pink room?" Eric asked softly and Horatio chuckled with a natural smile and nod.

"We've not discussed that just yet, but she definitely wants a pink room, we'll probably start in about two, maybe three weeks. We need to go and buy everything first as well, we wanted to wait a little while before we started to buy things." Horatio said softly and Eric nodded.

"If you need a hand, I'm always free on weekends and after work, I may be slightly hungover on the Saturday morning, but I can still paint and build things." Eric said softly and Horatio chuckled softly.

"Thank you Eric, I'll probably take you up on that since Zoë can't be around the paint." Horatio said softly and Eric nodded.

"You're going to have to get used to seeing pink, I hope you don't dislike the colour." Eric smiled and Horatio chuckled lightly again as he sat back and smiled brightly at Eric.

"Zoë already has a lot of pink things, I don't mind it." Horatio said softly and Eric nodded. They then looked round as the door opened and Nathan appeared with a friendly, reassuring smile.

"Zoë's just come out, all is well. She's going up to the ward now and should be with us in about 15 minutes, would you like to come up?" Nathan asked softly and they nodded and then stood. They walked towards the door as Nathan held it open for them while he wore his scrubs having dealt with a bloody emergency in A&E.

"Thank you Nathan." Horatio said as he shook Nathan's hand with an appreciative smile. They then headed up together while Nathan placed his hands on his hips while they walked.

"My pleasure Horatio… I must warn you that she's developing some bruising on her belly and around her neck and on her arms, but nothing serious has gone on, she looks worse than she is. But I assure you that the babies aren't hurt at all, they're quite content in there and kicking away." Nathan said softly and Horatio nodded as they walked up to the ward to find nurses hooking Zoë up to the monitors. Horatio quickly rushed over to Zoë's bedside and picked up her hand while he placed his other hand on her belly to feel a couple of kicks and movements after the nurses had moved away and given Horatio some space.

"How much blood did she lose?" Horatio asked softly as he looked back up to Nathan while Eric moved over to the window to give them some private time to talk.

"We're unsure, but we've given her a couple of blood transfusions and her blood volume is up to what it should be again. The knife just missed her carotid artery by no more than a millimetre, she was extremely lucky. The knife had also just nicked her oesophagus, which was why she was coughing up blood. We checked to make sure she wasn't bleeding anywhere else internally and she wasn't so she's good and all patched up. She's going to have a slightly sore and croaky throat for a few days, but other than that, she's good, she'll just have bruising." Nathan said as they stood by her bed. Nathan listened to her heart and lungs quickly and then looked back up to Horatio as he put his stethoscope around his neck.

"Do you know who did this and why?" Nathan asked softly as he crossed his arms and frowned up at Horatio. Horatio sighed as he looked back down to Zoë's placid face before he looked to her stomach and began to lightly move his hand around to feel more movement.

"They're working on it as we speak, hopefully we'll have a result soon. But from how she's described her attacker, I think this was probably gang related and that Zoë was used to get to me, once again." Horatio sighed softly as he focussed on Zoë's belly. But his smile began to brighten up when he could feel the movements more clearly after he moved his hand. "They're still fighting away." Horatio smiled softly.

"More of that to come unfortunately, Matt and I came out fighting." Nathan smiled and Horatio chuckled lightly as he glanced up at Nathan.

"I'm hoping they have Zoë's compassion and my patience, they simply couldn't fight then." Horatio smiled softly and Nathan nodded with a light chuckle. Zoë then let out a small moan and moved her hand that Horatio had a hold of. "Hey beautiful, it's Horatio." He said softly as he moved closer while she turned her head towards him. She swallowed and then let out another moan as her hand tightened on Horatio's a little. Horatio then swapped hands and removed his hand from her belly to take hold of her hand again he moved his fingertips of his other hand through her hair.

"Zoë, it's Nathan, you're going to have a sore throat, but you're fine. Your girls are also fine, you can probably feel them jumping around in there anyway." Nathan said softly and she swallowed again and turned her head towards Horatio's hand as he placed his palm against her cheek. She raised her left hand and placed it over her stomach as she heavily exhaled a moan. Horatio let go of her right hand and placed it over her left on her belly.

"Girls" she murmured quietly just as Horatio bend over and placed a delicate, loving kiss on her forehead which caused her eyes to flutter slightly as she tried to open them but they felt heavy.

"They're fine, sweetheart, they're kicking away in there and trying to wake their Mummy up." Horatio said softly and then smiled when he saw the small smile appear across her face with a contented moan. She then slowly opened her eyes and squinted up at Horatio. His smile widened as he looked down into her tired brown eyes.

"Hello, how are you feeling?" Horatio asked softly as he ran a hand through her hair while his loving eyes studied her sickly looking expression, but he knew it was just tiredness that made her look so bad.

"Sleepy." She croaked quietly and Horatio nodded as he ran his thumb over her soft hair above her ear while his fingers rested in her hair.

"Are you in much pain?" Horatio asked softly as he tilted his head.

"No" she replied with a whisper. She swallowed again and felt a slight sting in her throat but ignored it as she blinked slowly up at Horatio. "Are you okay?" She murmured roughly and he nodded at her.

"I'm good sweetheart, don't you worry about me." Horatio said warmly as he lightly skimmed his thumb over her cheek bone.

"I love you so much." She murmured again and he smiled at her.

"I love you so much too." He said quietly as he moved a little closer and then placed a gentle kiss on her lips when she tried to pull him even closer. She rubbed her nose against his lightly for a few moments while she just took in his scent and his loving touch.

"Where's Eric." She croaked quietly again and Horatio stepped back to allow Zoë to look at Eric who was stood behind him at the window. She squinted when the bright natural light hit her eyes after being protected from it by Horatio but her eyes quickly adjusted. She frowned slightly and saw a man by the window but her long-distance vision still remained slightly blurred. Eric had turned to them when he heard Zoë ask after him and a warm smile developed on his face as he looked at the both of them while Nathan minded his own business and wrote a few things down in her notes.

"He's here still sweetheart, don't worry you're safe, I promise you." Horatio said softly as Eric moved closer to stand beside Horatio as he placed his hands on the bed. Now that he was closer, Zoë could see him a lot more clearly and nodded with a gentle smile as she looked up at him. She seemed to relax a little more again.

"Hey Zo, how are you doing?" He asked softly as he tilted his head while Horatio threaded his free hand back in her hair as she relaxed her head back into the soft pillow.

"I'm good thank you, are you okay?" She croaked and he nodded with his warm smile.

"Do you want any pain medication, Zoë?" Nathan asked softly as he looked up from the notes and over to Zoë while he stood at the end of the bed. He placed the end of his pen in his mouth while he waited for her reply.

"No thank you sweetie, I'm good. When can I go?" She asked roughly as she moved herself in the bed slightly and then pulled Horatio closer so he sat on the edge of her bed.

"Not quite yet, I need you to eat something and to go to the loo before I think of releasing you." Nathan said softly after he pulled the pen from his mouth, she nodded as she took a deep breath.

"Well, I need the loo now so that's one step down." She said as she looked up at Nathan who smiled at her. They could all see that she seemed to be coming around a lot more.

"Okay sweet, let me take this line out and the leads off and you can go to the loo." Nathan said softly and she smiled warmly at him as she took Horatio's hand and looked up at him. Eric moved away and gave them their space again while his minded his own business. Horatio gave her a reassuring smile and then leant down to place another delicate kiss on her forehead while Nathan gently pulled the line out and began to unhook the wires without removing her gown. Once unhooked, Nathan and Horatio helped her slowly off the bed and onto her feet.

"Okay?" Nathan asked and Zoë nodded as Horatio pulled the gown closed at her back and tied it for her as it wasn't tied before. "Horatio's going to go with you okay?" Nathan said softly and she nodded and then took a tighter hold of Horatio's hand as she walked through to the en-suite with him. Zoë was just washing her hands as a wave of light-headedness and nausea hit her. She leant on the sink and took a deep breath. She could feel her mouth watering which was only driving the sensation of nausea more as she began to hear a light ringing in her ears. Horatio turned to her and frowned while he moved forwards and placed his hand on her back.

"Zoë, are you okay?" Horatio asked softly and she shook her head as she looked down. Horatio quickly took hold of her arm and turned her to see her pale face. She raised her arm and took hold of his bicep as she looked up at him with her vision darkening as unconsciousness began to claim her.

"I think I'm going to pass out." She croaked quietly and dryly as she looked at his top button. She could feel all of her muscles weakening but held on to consciousness with everything she had.

"Nathan" Horatio yelled as he took hold of Zoë's other arm and Nathan quickly opened the door. Horatio glanced back as Nathan quickly made his way over to them with a concerned frown.

"She's passing out." Horatio said as he held her upright as her head fell forwards as her legs gave out on her. Horatio pulled her closer and held her against his body as he looked over to Nathan with a panicked expression.

"Just get her on the floor nice and slowly. Don't panic." Nathan said calmly as he reached down and took Zoë's pulse on her wrist.

"She'll freak if she wakes up on the bathroom floor, especially a hospital floor." Horatio said as he looked at Nathan with a frown.

"Okay, bring her outside, keep calm Horatio." Nathan said softly and Horatio quickly pulled her outside. Nathan lifted her legs and they gently laid her on the bed. He pulled his stethoscope out and listened to her chest as she began to come around while Horatio held her legs up. She took a deep breath just as Horatio lowered her legs and rushed around to stand beside her head. She then looked up at Horatio and blinked a few times before she swallowed and then grimaced.

"You're okay sweetheart, you passed out." Horatio said softly and she exhaled a small moan and then sat up slowly as she rubbed her face. She looked up at Nathan and then to Eric and then rubbed her face again before she removed her hands and placed them on her belly and looked over to Horatio with another light moan.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Horatio asked as he sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her back lightly. She looked to him and nodded with a tired smile.

"Could I have some water please?" She asked Horatio softly and he nodded and then looked to Nathan.

"I'll be right back, okay?" He asked and Zoë nodded as she looked back to Nathan before he quickly left. Zoë took a deep breath and then placed her hand over Horatio's on his thigh.

"Are we safe?" Zoë asked softly and Horatio nodded as she gripped his hand.

"Jessop and Johnson are on the door, don't worry beautiful. I'm not going to let anything happen to my 3 girls." Horatio said softly as he pulled her closer and then kissed her forehead before allowing his eyes to steadily connect with hers again. She gave him a small smile and then rubbed her stomach. She looked down at her belly and exhaled heavily once again.

"Do you remember anything Zoë? Anything that could help us?" Horatio asked softly as Nathan walked back in. He handed her the water and she sipped it slowly before she nodded at Horatio. Nathan then pulled the head of the bed up and gestured for her to sit back so she didn't have to sit up under her own strength as it was clear she was still feeling a little weak. Zoë took a deep breath and looked into Horatio's concerned but determined eyes. She knew he was going to do his best to get the attacker.

"Erm… I went to the post office to post something up to Kaitlin." She said roughly and Horatio nodded as he took hold of her free hand while she held the cold plastic cup of water in her other.

"Did you get to the post office?" Horatio asked and she nodded.

"I decided that I was going to walk from the post office to the lab for a bit of exercise and to see you." She said roughly and he nodded as she paused for more water. "Do you have any soothers?" Zoë asked quietly as she looked over to Nathan.

"I do, but they won't help, sorry Zoë, I can give you some painkillers though?" Nathan said softly and she shook her head before she took another sip of water.

"Anyway, I was close to work when this bald guy covered in tattoos starts walking towards me at a fast pace. He looked dodgy and grim and I swear he looked high on something so I crossed the road." She said as she looked down and tried to recall it. She exhaled steadily when she remembered the next part. "I then got that kick in my stomach that I get when something bad is going to happen so I tried hurrying up as I pulled my phone out to call you." She paused again for a drink. She could feel that feeling of dread again. "I'm really sorry, my throat feels like it's been cut to shreds." She said roughly as she looked up at Horatio.

"That's okay sweetheart, take your time." Horatio assured her as he rubbed her back as Eric moved closer to listen. Horatio gave her a reassuring smile as he nodded and urged her to go on.

"I thought that the guy had passed me and carried on down the road, but then I felt someone grab my hair and pull me back. That caused some round ligament pains so I was more focused on that than the man at that point as I tried to soothe by belly. But then he put a knife to my throat and pulled me back into an alley. It was the alley by work." Zoë said roughly and then gave her throat a small rest and sipped her water. Horatio nodded and then placed his hand on her thigh as he tilted his head. '_She must have been terrified.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he began to feel incredibly guilty for not being there for her again.

"He asked where you and Eric were and where you both lived." I refused to answer so he pushed me into a wall and then kicked my stomach. I managed to grab his ankle and push him to the ground but I wasn't quick enough to stand up straight again as he got straight back up. I was panicking about the babies at this point because my tummy was hurting, so I didn't know what he said as his words muffled, but I know I heard both of your names again." Zoë said as she took a deep breath and rubbed her belly. She took another deep breath as she pressed her lips together.

"You're doing so well Zoë, can you tell us anymore? If you want to rest though, that's fine sweetheart." Horatio asked warmly as he affectionately rubbed her thigh and took hold of her free hand. She sipped some more water before she looked back up at Horatio and furrowed her brow.

"He was then saying if I didn't tell him everything about you two he'd kill me and the babies and then would kill the both of you. He was high, I swear… He kept on about you both, he kept on about how he was going to kill the both of you painfully. I think I then blacked out because the next thing I knew he was pressing the knife into my throat while he held me against him. He began to count down and I could feel the knife digging deeper with each number so as he got to 2 I raised my arms quickly behind my head and grabbed his head and smashed his face into the back of my head. In doing so, he cut my throat a little more as he dropped the knife and backed off as he held his bleeding nose. I think I broke it. My throat had begun to really start bleeding so I placed my hand over it to try and stop it." She paused once more for a small rest and more water. "I then managed to get my leg up high enough to kick him in the face again as he bent over and began cursing at me, I think I said a few curse words to him myself. I backed off to recover and then moved to kick him again and he quickly backed off while he coughed up blood too and then stood up straight and looked me in the eye. He was evil, there was nothing but pure evil in his eyes. He came forwards again but I kicked him hard in his balls and he finally backed off and ran with blood pouring from his nose. He realised that he was in a worse state than I was so that's why I think he ran. He didn't look like a guy that would run from a situation like that either. As he ran away, he kicked the knife under the red dumpster bin." Zoë said roughly and then finished her water and placed the cup on the side.

"Well done sweetheart, you did really well." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a soft smile.

"I have no idea what he wanted with you two or why he went after me, I think perhaps at the moment people think I'm an easy target." Zoë said softly as she gripped Horatio's hand a little tighter. "No-body messes with Zoë Caine, not even when I'm pregnant. I think our angel was looking over me too." She smiled softly and Horatio smiled back at her as he rubbed her back again. His phone began to ring and he pulled it from his pocket before he glanced down at it.

"I've got to take this, okay?" Horatio said softly and Zoë nodded as he got off the bed and walked over to the window. Zoë then looked over to Eric with a kind smile as he smiled at her and admired her bravery. Nathan's pager then bleeped and he excused himself.

"Eric, have you felt the babies yet?" She asked warmly and he shook his head with a small smile. She lightly rubbed her stomach with a kind smile and gestured for him to come forwards. He moved forwards as Horatio gave him a slow nod while he spoke on the phone as he could see that Eric was a little apprehensive. She took hold of his hand and put it over the bottom side of her belly. She looked up at him while he looked down at her belly and looked to be concentrating. Horatio didn't take his eyes off Eric or his hand, but knew that it was just a harmless thing. He knew that Zoë loved allowing others touch her belly when the babies were kicking around hard and he knew that Eric hadn't yet felt.

"Feel that?" She asked roughly before she watched a smile appear across his face as he nodded and looked back up at her.

"I think that's baby A kicking baby 1 for more room." She smiled softly and Eric chuckled lightly.

"Why baby A and baby 1?" Eric asked with a smile as she moved his hand a little more so he could feel a stronger kick.

"Because if they're anything like me, they'd hate be called the second baby." Zoë smiled sweetly which caused Eric to chuckle again as he looked back down to Zoë's belly as he felt a large movement.

"That's quite nice to feel actually, not baby A bullying baby 1, but to feel a baby kick." He said softly with a blissful smile.

"I know what you mean. I love to just lie down and feel them kicking. They love it in the car, they both wake when we're in the car." She smiled softly and Eric chuckled and then glanced round to Horatio when he heard a familiar name.

"The blood belongs to Memmo Fierro?" Horatio questioned as Eric let go of her belly and stood up straight and looked to Horatio with a grave expression. Zoë looked up at Eric and saw that the name had meant something to him.

"Isn't he in prison?" Horatio questioned and both Zoë and Eric turned to listen intensely as she wanted to know everything about her attacker.

"He escaped?" Horatio questioned firmly as he placed a hand on his hip and tensed slightly.

"Walter, you know the alley way just down the road from the lab?" He asked softly and waited for Walter's answer.

"Take Natalia and search it, that's where Zoë was attacked, she said he accidentally kicked the knife under a red dumpster." Horatio said clearly as he glanced back to Zoë and Eric to see that they had intense expressions. He looked back to the window as he took a deep breath.

"Okay, call me if you get anything else." Horatio said as he hung up and then turned around. He put his phone back in his pocket and then swallowed as he approached Zoë's bed once more.

"That son of a bitch who shot at me and my sister and nearly got us killed is out?" Eric asked and Horatio nodded as he pressed his lips into a hard line.

"He shot at you and Marisol?" Zoë asked as she looked up at Eric and he nodded before he looked back down to Zoë.

"He missed us by a few inches, it would have killed her if he had got it to the left a few inches. He caught me in the arm but it was nothing serious." Eric said softly and Zoë frowned deeply.

"I'm sorry… I should have knocked him out or something." Zoë apologised as she furrowed her brow and lightly rubbed her belly again.

"Don't be silly Zo, you did really well." Eric said softly and she gave him a small smile and then looked down and felt her throat drying out again.

"May I have some more water please?" She asked as she looked up at Horatio and he nodded then took her cup and filled it back up with the jug of water that Nathan had brought in.

"Thank you." She said dryly and watched Horatio as he sat on the edge of the bed again. "Did you ring Joe?" She asked softly as she reached over and took hold of his hand and then sipped the water again.

"Not yet, I was just about to do that, I didn't ring him when you were in surgery because he'd panic too much." Horatio said softly and she nodded in understanding while he placed his other hand over her belly.

"Could you ring him now please and just tell him what's gone on, but say that he doesn't need to come over and that I'm fine." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded with a gentle smile as he lifted her hand and then kissed her knuckles affectionately while he looked up at her through his lashes.

"I'm going to step outside, okay?" He said softly as he placed both of their hands on his thigh.

"Why outside?" She asked him as her eyes widened and fear became evident in her eyes.

"Because I also need a word with the officers outside, I'm not moving away from the door, I promise you." Horatio said softly and she looked at him with pleading eyes. "Don't worry sweetheart, Eric is here, he's not going to leave your side. I just want a very quick word with the officers." Horatio said softly and she looked to Eric, she was obviously worried about being left alone which was very understandable in both Horatio's and Eric's minds.

"I'm right here Zoë, I'm not leaving." Eric assured her and she looked back to Horatio and then nodded just as Nathan walked back in.

"Okay sweetheart, don't panic, I'm just outside that door okay? You're safe with Eric and Nathan." He said softly and she nodded as she took a deep breath. He got up off the bed and she just looked at him with slightly worried eyes. Horatio gave both Eric and Nathan a nod then stepped outside and spoke with the two officers and then turned around to dial for Joe. He looked up from his phone and saw the woman who was claiming to be Calleigh walking towards him. He swallowed and frowned before he looked back to his phone but she stopped in front of him. He'd hoped that she'd walk past but she didn't.

"I know you're confused right now Horatio." She said softly and he nodded as he remained silent and placed a hand on his hips while he held a strong posture.

"Calleigh died, I checked myself so whoever you are impersonating her, leave right now." Horatio said lowly as he looked at her with piercing eyes. It was clear that Horatio wasn't happy at all as he held his head high to take hold of a more threatening posture.

"I am Calleigh, Horatio, it's such a long story, I need to talk to Eric. I will explain it all." Calleigh said smoothly and he studied her. Even he couldn't deny that she looked and sounded exactly like Calleigh. He then looked down at the phone in his hand and shook his head. He simply couldn't believe her. "Who is that poor woman? Is she okay?" Calleigh asked softly and Horatio looked back up at her. She saw that his expression hard hardened and saw that she was pushing his buttons. '_This woman has the cheek to ask about Zoë? That could be why she's here. She could be using Calleigh to get close to Zoë. Plastic surgeons these days can do remarkable things. I wouldn't put it past a twisted criminal to try and pull this stunt off.'_ Horatio thought to himself as his lips hardened. He took a step back and then ran his hand through his hair. "You're married?" Calleigh questioned when she saw the ring on his finger. He looked back up at Calleigh and then nodded before he looked to the door as it swung open.

"Horatio, we need you in here now." Nathan said and he quickly walked away from Calleigh and into the room and closed the door after him. Calleigh walked over to the door by the police officers but they both moved to stand in front of the door with firm expressions.

"May I go in?" She asked and they shook their heads and held their strong posture while they placed their hands on their guns to show the woman that they weren't to be messed with and that they weren't afraid to use force if needed. "What's her name?" She asked as she frowned up at the both of them. They glanced to each other before looking back to the blonde woman.

"We can't give out that information." Officer Jessop said firmly. She glanced down the hall to see a man walking up in a rush.

"Please excuse me" he said to Calleigh and she stepped back as the officers stepped back and let him in.

"Joe." The officers greeted as they let him in. They then stepped back in front of the door once he was in.

"Who's he? Why's he allowed in there?" Calleigh questioned as she placed her hands on her hips.

"We can't give out any information ma'am." Officer Jessop said firmly.

In the room Zoë looked up at Joe, a little surprised while Joe looked at Horatio and Zoë with a very worried expression.

"Joe" Zoë said as she moved from Horatio's grip and then hugged Joe as he moved forwards and gently embraced her. '_I didn't even manage to call him? How'd he know?'_ Horatio thought to himself as he looked up at Joe and then shook his hand once he was done hugging Zoë.

"How'd you get here so quickly?" Zoë asked roughly as she looked up at him and then took Horatio's hand again.

"I was driving past the lab and saw Walter out in the alley on the other side of the road. He said you were brought in after a nasty attack." He said softly and Zoë pressed her lips together and then nodded. She saw his worry decreasing steadily as he placed his hand on her stomach and felt the kicks.

Meanwhile back outside, the blonde woman was still trying to get in.

"Why can't you let me in?" She questioned firmly.

"We're under strict orders, ma'am." Officer Jessop replied back equally as firmly.

"But you didn't even check that man's ID." Calleigh argued as she titled her head and looked at Jessop with fire in her eyes.

"We know him." They both replied firmly before they pressed their lips together.

"Jessop, you know me, it's Calleigh Duquesne." She said as she frowned as she tilted her head.

"Ma'am, Calleigh Duquesne is no longer with us." He said as he crossed his arms.

"Look at me Jessop, tell me that I'm not Calleigh Duquesne." She said firmly as she gestured to her face and body as she stepped back. It was obvious that she was becoming incredibly frustrated.

"Ma'am even if Calleigh was still with us, she wouldn't be allowed it. Would you please move from the door or we will have to have you removed." Officer Johnson said as he exhaled, they were both becoming frustrated with her too.

"What do you mean? I'm an ex-police officer, I'm safe I'm not going to hurt anyone. I just need to speak with Eric." She said as she continued to frown as she placed her hands back on her hips.

"Everyone who enters needs clearance ma'am." Jessop replied with a stiff lip.

"Clearance from who?" Calleigh questioned sharply.

"Lieutenant Caine." He replied.

"Ask him then." She said firmly and Johnson sighed and then nodded.

"Stand back please." He said as Jessop placed his hand on his gun, he was ready for anything.

"Please, Jessop I'm not some dangerous criminal." She snapped as she crossed her arms and glared at him.

"It wouldn't be the first time someone has impersonated an authoritative figure to get into this room." Jessop replied firmly as his eyes remained set on her.

"No, no-one but the agreed list." Horatio replied firmly and loudly. Calleighs mouth dropped open, gobsmacked. '_They really don't believe me.'_ She said as she took another step back and ran her hand through her hair.

"Sorry ma'am but Lieutenant Caine is clear in his instructions." The officer said and she slumped into one of the seats opposite them. Both officers resumed their strong posture in front of the door. '_I guess I can't blame them, I turn up out of the blue after two years and expect them to drop everything, then that poor woman is attacked. Is she with Eric? Is she pregnant with Eric? Horatio is now married? Boy, a lot changes in 2 years. How am I going to explain it all to them? Will they even believe me?'_ She thought to herself as she put her head in her hands.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

Calleigh rubbed her face more as she looked down at the floor. '_I know what I did was wrong, but I had no choice, surely Eric will understand if I manage to speak with him, Horatio will understand surely? But they both could have changed so much in 2 years, I mean, Horatio's married and Eric's got a pregnant girlfriend.'_ She thought to herself. She then looked up and saw Alexx making her way up the corridor quickly with a bag in her hand, she walked straight past Calleigh and didn't seem to even see her.

"Alexx?" Calleigh questioned and Alexx turned around as she stood in front of the door. Calleigh watched the deep frown appear across Alexx's face. Alexx blinked a few times and then swallowed as she tilted her head.

"Calleigh?" Alexx asked and Calleigh stood with a nod, she then saw the disbelief cross Alexx's face as she shook her head. '_I must be seeing things, going a bit crazy with the old age, Alexx.'_Alexx thought to herself as she turned around; she genuinely believed that she was seeing things and then walked into Zoë's room with a warm smile appearing on her face again.

'_They are all thinking they're seeing things, I can't believe this.' _Calleigh said as she slumped back down and leant forwards on her thighs while she looked back up at the officers.

"Please, just let me see them, or at least get Eric." Calleigh begged the officers with pleading eyes.

"Ma'am, please move from here or you will be removed." They said just as the door opened and Nathan walked out and stood by the officers as the door closed. He looked down the corridor at the nurses' station.

"Zara, get Martin - Zoë's cardiologist up here now please." Nathan ordered her and she nodded as she picked up the phone. Nathan looked Calleigh up and down and then walked back in and closed the door quickly.

"Just tell me if that woman is okay?" Calleigh asked as she stood up and moved towards them again.

"We don't know ma'am." Jessop said, she could see both officers losing their temper. She stepped away as the nurse walked over to them.

"Jessop, could you please inform Nathan that Martin is held up at the moment, thank you." She said sweetly and he nodded and then turned to put his head around the door. Calleigh moved back more as Jessop stepped back and Nathan walked out, looking stressed. He quickly closed the door and then stalked over to the desk where he picked up the phone and rang as Calleigh watched with a mild frown.

"Martin, it's Nathan, we need you here urgently." Nathan said as he ran his hand through his hair as he glanced back up at Calleigh before he looked back down to the desk. He could feel Calleigh's eyes on him intensely.

"Yes, it's Zoë. Her pacemaker isn't correcting a new arrhythmia that has developed. We need the settings changed now; we need to make it more sensitive." Nathan said as he wrote a few things down on a pad by the phone before he sighed and then ran his hand through his hair again as he stood back up and looked down to the floor.

"If these settings aren't changed soon, we could lose her and the babies, this is urgent." Nathan stressed as he placed his hand on his hip.

"Okay, I'm bringing her to you now." Nathan said as he hung up and walked back over to Zoë's room. He stopped when he noticed that Calleigh hadn't taken her eyes off him.

"I'm sorry, are you lost ma'am?" He asked softly while he calmed himself down and Calleigh shook her head with a concerned expression.

"Is she okay?" Calleigh asked as she stepped towards him.

"I can't give you that information, sorry. Who are you?" Nathan asked as he crossed his arms and mildly frowned at her.

"Calleigh Duquesne." She replied and he nodded and looked down for a moment and ran the name through his memory to see if Zoë had ever mentioned her before but he didn't recognise it.

"Do you know her?" Nathan asked and she shook her head as she stepped forwards and placed a hand on Nathan's forearm with a pleading expression.

"But I was a part of the team before she started, I've been away and I need to speak with Eric." She said softly and he nodded and then stepped away from her touch.

"I'll see what I can do, but it doesn't look like Eric is going to leave just yet." Nathan said softly as he unfolded his arms and she nodded.

"Can I come in and talk to him in the corner or something then?" Calleigh asked as she tilted her head.

"Sorry, but you can't do that." Nathan said and she nodded as she sighed. Nathan then heard his name being called from inside the room. He looked back to Calleigh with a firm expression. "Please stand back from the door." Nathan said and waited for her to move back before he turned and then walked into the room. He quickly closed the door.

"Okay Zoë, we're going to take you to see Martin now, we're going to tweak your pacemaker, it's nothing to worry about, it'll take about 5 minutes, tops." He said softly and she nodded at him with a gentle smile. He'd noticed that she was becoming a lot more pale too so he wanted to get her there as soon as he could.

"Alexx, could I be a pain in the bum please?" Zoë asked and she nodded with a smile as she stepped forwards and placed her hands on Zoë's forearm. "Could you please go and get me something with cheese in at the cafeteria?" She asked and Alexx nodded with a bright smile. Horatio stood up and reached back into his back pocket with a gentle smile.

"Here Alexx" Horatio said as he pulled his wallet out and began to pull out a couple of notes.

"Put it away Horatio, I've got it." Alexx said softly and Horatio looked up at her and tilted his head as he lowered his eyebrows at her. "Don't worry about it, I'll see you in about 15 minutes. Something with cheese in, I got it." Alexx said softly and Zoë nodded with a smile while Alexx backed off.

"Thank you, can you also grab me a can of coke please?" She asked and Alexx nodded as she picked her handbag up before she turned to Nathan.

"Nathan, will you all be back here in this room?" Alexx asked and he nodded as he pulled the machines from their stands and placed them at the end of the bed between her legs so they could keep an eye on her vitals while they transferred her. "Okay, I'll see you soon." Alexx said softly as she walked out and down the corridor, she walked past Calleigh without even looking over as she still believed that she wasn't there.

"I'll see you in a bit, Zoë." Eric said softly as Nathan took the brakes off the bed. Zoë looked up at him with a panicked expression. They all saw her heartbeat increase slightly.

"Come with us please?" She asked as she looked at him with pleading, desperate eyes. Her eyes welled as he looked at her and Horatio could see that she was about to cry again. "Please Eric, I don't want you to get hurt. He said he was going after you both no matter where you were." She said as a few tears escaped her eyes. Eric exhaled and then nodded at her with a gentle expression.

"Okay, I'll come with." He said as she glanced to Horatio who looked at Zoë with a bit of confusion, it was clear that he wasn't thrilled by the idea but he then looked to Eric and gave him an appreciative nod as he knew it was what Zoë wanted.

"Eric is waiting outside when we get there though, okay?" Horatio said to Zoë gently who nodded at him and took hold of his hand. '_She's probably just feeling very unsafe at the moment, perhaps with Eric around too it's making her feel safer? I guess she's also worried about what could happen if Eric was left on his own._' Horatio thought as he smiled reassuringly at her as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Thank you, have you got your gun?" She asked and Eric nodded and then showed her his gun on his belt and then saw her relax a little as she placed her hand over her stomach. Nathan began to move the bed as Horatio held the door and then walked out with Eric after the bed. Joe stayed put in the room, he knew that 3 would be a crowd and that it was best if Eric went along as he could understand that she needed to feel safe. They both looked at Calleigh as she stood and looked at them all with pleading eyes herself.

"Eric, Horatio, please I need to talk." She asked as she stepped forwards but she saw Horatio's expression turn dangerous, more so when she stepped close to the bed.

"Not now, please." Eric said as he looked to her and she looked at them both with what looked like her hope disappearing. But she also saw that Horatio was just about to snap the same thing before Eric spoke. Calleigh then looked down to Zoë and saw Zoë looking at her with a confused frown.

"Jessop on the door, Johnson, with us." Horatio ordered and they nodded at him. "Ma'am, do not follow us, thank you." Horatio said firmly as they began to walk down the corridor. Calleigh stopped and looked at them while she exhaled steadily and then sat back down. '_What do I do? I have to talk to them, I know it's not a good time, but I do have to speak to them. I'd just leave if it wasn't important.'_ She thought to herself. She watched them all walk back up 25 minutes later but didn't bother getting up. She could see that Zoë was very sleepy while Horatio held her hand while Eric had a hand on the bed. '_Horatio's holding her hand? I guess she's been through a lot, he always had that very caring nature.'_ She thought to herself with a mild frown while they walked back into the room. Eric quickly closed the door behind them while Zoë looked up at Horatio tiredly.

"Zoë, you should be waking up more about now, okay? The sedative should be wearing off, well done, you did extremely well with all of those nurses about." Nathan said loudly as he rubbed her shoulder. She swallowed and then looked over to Nathan with a small nod before she looked back to Horatio.

"Did I see Calleigh?" Zoë asked quietly as she looked up at Horatio and then reached up for his hand. He sat on the edge of her bed and placed their hands on his thigh as he gave her a tender smile.

"That was someone who looks like her sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand while he placed his other hand on her belly.

"I thought I was seeing ghosts again." She said quietly and Horatio smiled reassuringly and warmly.

"You're not sweetheart." Horatio assured her.

"How do you know what Calleigh looks like?" Eric asked with a frown as he looked at Zoë.

"I worked her case, Eric. Don't you remember?" Zoë said and he nodded once he'd remembered.

"Of course, sorry Zo." He said softly and she nodded with a gentle smile before she looked back to Horatio with a deep frown forming. He saw the worry in her eyes as well as her fear and knew it was because of the blonde woman.

"Why is she sitting outside the room? She's not going to hurt me, is she? She's not waiting for me to be on my own, is she?" Zoë asked quietly as she gripped Horatio's hand tighter. He moved closer and sat forwards as he shook his head.

"She's not going to hurt you sweetheart, Eric and I are here to make sure you're safe." Horatio said softly and Zoë nodded as she pressed her lips together as her eyes welled.

"Please don't leave me." She begged as she began to cry.

"I'm not going to leave you, sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he gently ran his hand through her hair and then kissed her forehead and she nodded as she looked up at him with frightened and tired eyes.

"Promise me." She asked quietly as Horatio wiped the falling tears from her cheeks.

"I promise." Horatio said softly and she gave him a small smile and then looked over to Eric while Horatio continued to wipe her tears away.

"I promise you Zoë." Eric said softly and she began to relax slightly as she took a deep breath.

"Please don't break that promise." She begged him with wide eyes.

"I won't." He assured her as he placed his hand on her shin and she nodded and then looked to Joe and silently asked the same question.

"I promise too." Joe said softly and she gave him a small smile before she looked back up at Horatio with more of a confident smile.

"How are you feeling physically now Zoë?" Nathan asked softly once she had calmed herself down. She swallowed and sat up a little more and nodded at him.

"A lot better, but really hungry." She replied as she started to rub her belly and Nathan nodded with a soft smile.

"Alexx should be back soon sweet." He said softly and she nodded, she then looked to the door as it opened again and Alexx walked in with a bag as Nathan put the machines back on their stands.

Horatio helped her to sit up as Nathan pulled the head of the bed up. Zoë's eyes lit up considerably when she saw the bag Alexx held.

"Thank you Alexx, are you sure you don't want the money?" Zoë asked as Alexx placed the bag on the side of the bed beside her.

"Don't be silly, it's fine." She said softly and Zoë nodded and then pulled the cheese sandwich out. Her mouth watered a lot when she saw the cheese filling.

"Not craving flowers anymore? I heard all about that." Nathan asked and she giggled lightly and shook her head with a wide smile as she reached into the bag to see what there was.

"Oh my gosh, Babybels! Thank you Alexx!" She grinned as she pulled the packet out and began to eat them too. Alexx smiled warmly at her before she smiled warmly at Horatio two when Horatio smiled at her and gave her an appreciative nod while he lightly rubbed Zoë's belly. "Can I go soon?" Zoë asked Nathan again once she'd finished her mouthful.

"In about an hour, I want to keep an eye on your heart for a little longer to make sure we've tweaked the pacemaker enough." He said softly and Zoë nodded as she picked up the can of coke. She felt like she was in cheese heaven which satisfied another craving.

"I can drink coke, can't I?" She asked and both Alexx and Nathan nodded at her warmly.

"I wouldn't have got it if you couldn't have it." Alexx said softly to reassure Zoë and Zoë nodded with a wide smile. It was clear that she was feeling a lot better and much less tired after the sedative.

"I should have thought about that." Zoë smiled sweetly and Alexx smiled as she perched on the end of the bed. "That is so good." She said as she put the ice cold coke back down and then took another bite of another Babybel. "I feel like a right fatty eating all of this." She said as she looked up at Horatio with her bright smile shifting over to the shy smile side.

"Carry on sweetheart, we don't mind." Horatio smiled softly as he continued to lightly rub her belly and felt a baby beginning to move again.

"Do you want some babybels or anything?" She asked before she bit her lip and looked at Horatio sweetly.

"No thank you sweetheart." Horatio said softly and she then offered them around but no-one wanted any.

"It's a shame that I'll have to eat them all." She said with a smile and they all smiled back at her.

"I got you some clothes, baby, I have to get off now, but let me know when you're home and if you need anything, okay?" Alexx asked softly and she nodded with a kind smile.

"Thank you Alexx." She said as she finished her mouthful and then hugged her. She left as Zoë finished what she was eating.

"That's filled the stomach for another 30 minutes." She smiled and Horatio chuckled with Joe and Eric. They all felt so much better to hear and see that Zoë felt a lot better.

"I need to go and make a few phone calls okay, Bunny?" He said softly and Zoë nodded as she looked up at Joe with a gentle expression.

"Okay, I'll see you in a moment." She said softly and he nodded as he gave her hand a quick squeeze and then walked out.

Calleigh looked to Joe as he walked down the corridor a little and pulled his phone out, but she couldn't hear what he was saying, she just got the occasional word. She looked down to her hands as she leant forwards on her thighs again, she lost herself in her thoughts so much that she hadn't even noticed Joe walk back into the room.

'_That poor woman; heart problems and being attacked all while pregnant. She must be one strong woman, I can see why Eric would like her.'_ She thought just as Frank walked up the corridor and stared at Calleigh, he didn't say a word. He just opened the door and asked for Horatio, Horatio then excused himself from Zoë and walked out with Frank. Calleigh got a look in and saw Eric sitting on the side of the bed with his hand on Zoë's stomach while she smiled up at Eric. '_Eric's finally got a family, I am happy for him.' _She thought to herself but she could feel a little part of her die as she swallowed.

"Frank, what have you got?" Horatio questioned as they moved down the corridor a little, away from the blonde woman. Horatio stood strong and placed his hands on his hips while he looked down at the floor.

"Mala Noche are to do with this, Memmo Feirro is still on the loose and we're doing our best to track him but we're not having much luck right now. We think it's linked to that large drug smuggling that we interfered and stopped, I've had officers check out your house and there's a patrol car outside keeping an eye on everything." Frank said and Horatio nodded as he pressed his lips together before he looked up at Frank.

"I'll put Skyler on high alert, thank you Frank. Have you had Eric's place checked out too? Memmo questioned Zoë about us, I think the attack was to get information. Little did he know that Zoë doesn't take that sort of thing lightly, I think he'll think twice before messing with her again. Keep an eye out in the emergency departments for anyone with a broken nose, Zoë said that he was bleeding badly so he might have gone to a hospital to get patched up." Horatio said firmly and Frank nodded at him as he studied Horatio's worried facial expression before he glanced back to Calleigh as she looked at the both of them continuously. Frank pressed his lips together as he looked back to Horatio when Horatio looked back down to the floor again. "I doubt I'll be returning to work anytime soon, but keep me in the loop. Skyler will keep an eye out and alert me if anything suspicious is going on around the house though." Horatio said softly and Frank nodded as he placed his hands on his hips. '_His wife is called Skyler? I wonder what she looks like, I bet she's lovely._' Calleigh thought to herself.

"How's Zoë?" Frank asked and Horatio looked back up at him and nodded.

"She's good, she should be allowed home in an hour or so." Horatio replied.

"The twins?" Frank questioned, it was clear that even he was worried.

"They're both good, both have steady strong heartbeats and are doing well." Horatio said softly and Frank nodded with a small smile when he saw the smile tugging at Horatio's lips.

"Is Delko in there too?" Frank asked and Horatio nodded as he glanced back and saw Calleigh looking at them before he looked back to Frank.

"Zoë doesn't want us to leave, she's terrified, the more people around her that she knows the more comfortable she's feeling I think." Horatio said softly and Frank nodded.

"If there's anything I can do, then you know where I am." Frank said and Horatio nodded.

"Thank you Frank." Horatio said softly before Frank turned away and walked down the corridor. Horatio looked down at his sunglasses while he pressed his lips together. He then turned and walked into the room without even exchanging a look with the blonde woman. Before he entered he stopped by Jessop and had a few quiet words.

"Ma'am, Lieutenant Caine has asked us to remove you from the hospital." Jessop said as he looked at Calleigh. She stood and a deep frown developed.

"He's asked you to remove me?" She asked in disbelief. "All I want to do is talk." She added as she furrowed her brow.

"We will have to remove you if you do not leave of your own accord." He said and she placed her hands on her hips and looked down. '_Eric has his life now, he doesn't need me waltzing in and turning everything upside down, perhaps it's best if I do go? They all seem to be fine without me, they've moved on with their lives. It's clear that they don't want to accept me back, it's clear that they don't want to hear from me.'_ Calleigh thought to herself and then nodded at the officers when she looked back up at them. She then walked away, feeling a little low.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Okay Zoë, I'm happy to let you leave now if you're feeling up to it?" Nathan asked softly an hour later and she nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm more than up for it." She said with a smile and Nathan then nodded himself.

"Okay, get dressed and I'll be back with the wheelchair." He said softly and she nodded as she slowly got off the bed with the help of Horatio. She picked up her clothes and then walked into the en-suite and changed. She came back out in jogging bottoms and a t-shirt as Nathan walked in with a wheelchair.

XXXXXXXX

Joe drove back to the crime lab to drop Eric off as he was supposed to be on shift still.

"Eric please be careful, are you sure you don't want to take the day off?" Zoë questioned as she looked at him with worried eyes. He looked back to her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'll be fine Zoë, don't worry." Eric assured her gently as Horatio placed his hand on her thigh and then took a light hold of her hand.

"But what if he comes after you? He was an awful man, what if you get hurt?" Zoë questioned, she was clearly worried about Eric's safety.

"I'm not going to get hurt Zoë, don't worry. I promise you, just don't worry." Eric reassured her once more.

"Okay, but just make sure that no-one follows you home and if they do, you come straight to ours and Skyler can do something about it, our house is much safer than yours." Zoë said roughly and he nodded.

"Okay Zoë, just don't worry, alright? We'll get him." Eric replied just as Joe pulled up outside the lab and she nodded.

"Be careful," Zoë reminded just as he got out.

"You too, take it easy, both of you. If you need anything just give me a call." Eric said warmly and then closed the door after they'd nodded at him. Joe then drove Horatio and Zoë into town to pick up their car. They got home and Zoë quickly took a bath to relax.

"Are you sure Eric will be okay at work?" She asked Horatio as he walked into the bathroom with a gentle smile.

"Yes sweetheart, he'll be fine." Horatio reassured her softly.

"What about you? What about us?" She asked as he crouched beside the bath and placed his hand over her stomach and studied the darker bruising that was beginning to show.

"We'll be fine, Skyler is on high-alert, she'll alert us if anyone walks up the path and she'll search the criminal database to compare their faces to, there's no need to worry." He said softly and she nodded as she relaxed slightly.

"Thank you Horatio." She thanked him and he nodded with a smile and he then helped her out slowly. She sat on the bed and dried herself as Horatio got her underwear out for her. "Can I have a sports bra please, Horatio." She asked with her voice becoming horse again and he put her bra away and pulled out a sports bra. "Thank you, I read that sometimes a sports bra can help, they're getting a little painful again." She explained and he nodded.

"What do you want to wear?" He asked softly as she sat on the bed and picked up the tub of moisturiser.

"Can I have a pair of shorts and one of your t-shirts please?" She asked after she took a few sips of water and he nodded and then collected the items as she moisturised.

"Thank you Kitten." She smiled warmly and then pulled the shorts up and pulled the t-shirt on. "Who was that woman if she wasn't Calleigh?" Zoë asked as she looked over to him as he walked over to her with a gentle smile.

"I'm not sure sweetheart, but I think she was impersonating Calleigh to try and get close to you, she asked about you a lot and seemed very interested when I spoke with Frank outside the room." Horatio said softly and Zoë frowned at him.

"She has to be a right sicko if she's impersonating a deceased police officer." Zoë said as Horatio took her hands and helped her to stand.

"I think it affected Eric worse than anyone else." Horatio said softly and Zoë looked at him with her frown becoming deeper as she nodded.

"I feel so bad for him right now, it must be playing havoc with his head." Zoë said softly as she looked up at him and then let go of his hands to soothe her aching belly by rubbing it lightly.

"He's been occupied most of the time, and I've never seen him smile so much before when he felt the girls kicking, so I don't think it's been an entirely disastrous day for him." Horatio said softly and then saw a smile appear across her face. "I told him that he'd have to at least change one nappy." Horatio smiled softly and Zoë giggled as she removed one hand from her belly and linked arms with him as they walked down stairs to get something small to eat.

"He will; Uncle Eric has to at least try it." She smiled and Horatio smiled a little more relaxed.

"I may have also told him you call him Uncle Eric at home." Horatio said softly and she looked round to him with an embarrassed smile and wide eyes before she exhaled a small chuckle and looked down at the stairs while they slowly walked down them. She then looked back up at him with a wide cheeky smile.

"I forgive you, I may have called you Kitten when you were out of the room in the hospital, so we're even." She smiled and Horatio looked at her embarrassed with wide eyes as his smile disappeared from his face which made Zoë giggle again as they walked into the kitchen. "What? I think we're even now and it was actually an accident." She smiled and he looked down with his secret smile while he shook his head. He remained silent as he picked up a packet of tablets and handed them to her to take. She could see that he was still embarrassed about the thought of Eric knowing Zoë's nickname for him. "He thought it was cute." She smiled softly and he looked back up at her and furrowed his brow further, she was making him more embarrassed and she knew it while she popped out two tablets. "What? You're my Kitten." She smiled at him and he chuckled softly as he got out a tub of pasta from the fridge that was made the night before. He took a deep breath and then exhaled his embarrassment away. '_Eric won't say anything to anyone else about that, I'm sure of it.'_ Horatio thought to himself, he had hoped that anyway while he divided the pasta into two bowls and then picked up two forks.

"I had a dream about kittens the other night actually." She smiled as they turned and then walked back out with him after she got them two glasses of water. "They were so cute." She added while they walked back upstairs. He looked over to her with a kind smile. "They were ginger just like you, and they had blue eyes." She grinned and he chuckled lightly as Zoë sat on the bed and placed the two glasses of water on the side.

"It's red-hair." He smiled and she chuckled quietly as he also sat down on the bed and then handed her a bowl once she was comfortable.

"They're the same thing, Horatio." She smiled sweetly as she looked at the two painkillers in her hand.

"You love teasing me about that too, don't you?" He smiled at her and she nodded with a cheeky smile.

"How does Nathan expect me to swallow these monsters when my throat feels like it's been ripped in two?" Zoë questioned as she looked down at the large pills.

"Don't swallow them dry, actually take them with water." Horatio said warmly with a gentle smile. She did as he said and found that it was easier than she had first thought.

"I only tease you because I know you prefer to be called a red-head. Our grandchildren could be ginger too, you know. These two could come out ginger too, but I heard that it usually skips a generation." She smiled softly.

"I know, I thought it usually skips a generation too." He said softly and she smiled as she took a bite of the pasta and thoroughly chewed it before she swallowed.

"Your brother wasn't a red-head, was he?" Zoë asked and Horatio shook his head as he looked to her.

"But he had a daughter that has red-hair." Horatio said softly with a gentle smile.

"He had a daughter? I thought he just had a son." Zoë said as she tilted her head with a mild frown before she took another bite and then a sip of water.

"He had his daughter without Yelina knowing." Horatio said softly as he looked back to her after finishing his mouthful.

"What? He had an affair?" She asked sounding completely startled and surprised as she sat up straight and looked at him with a deep frown.

"He was undercover, Zoë." Horatio said softly trying to defend his brother as he could see the look of disgust in her eyes.

"That doesn't make it right!" She said as she looked at him and placed her half eaten bowl of pasta down on the side and turned to look back at him. "If you ever had a child with another woman during our marriage whether you're undercover or not I'm sorry but I wouldn't forgive you, you'd be out of this house in a flash, just as much as I'd expect you to treat me the same way." She said firmly looking horrified as she glared at him. He knew it was because he was defending his brother that was making her get so defensive, he knew that she was probably thinking that he thought it was okay, which he didn't think at all.

"You know I'd never do anything like that sweetheart. I don't think it was right either, but that was the past." Horatio said softly as he placed his hand on her leg and she burst into tears as she looked away from him. She moved her leg from under his hand and raised her hands to her eyes to wipe the flowing tears away. "Zoë, you know I would _never _have an affair." Horatio said softly as he began to rub her back but she got up and walked away. '_Does she think that I will have an affair?'_ Horatio questioned himself as she closed the en-suite door and went to the loo. She washed her hands and dried them before she looked at herself in the mirror. Horatio got up after placing his bowl on the side and knocked on the door.

"Talk to me Zoë, please? Have you been having bad dreams about things like that?" He asked and she opened the door to him and nodded with tears pouring from her eyes. He frowned, feeling bad for her as it was clear that she was confused again.

"I keep dreaming that you're having an affair and will leave me. I keep dreaming that you won't love me anymore after I've had the babies, I keep thinking that the babies will push us apart. You don't even find me attractive anymore, what's to stop you from walking away and finding someone more attractive and less of a moody and unstable cow?" She sobbed as she tried to wipe her eyes. He pulled her closer and embraced her warmly.

"First of all, let's go and sit down." Horatio said warmly as he pulled from the embrace and gently took her by the arm to walk over to the bed. He made sure she was comfortable and handed her some tissues while she sat up against the head-board and continued to sob. Horatio then got on the bed himself and sat in front of her with her legs between his as he placed his hands on her shins and looked up at her with gentle, warm eyes.

"Those dreams and thoughts are very common Zoë, but I promise you that they will never become a reality, I will _always_ love you and our children, I will _never_ ever leave you. You're still very attractive Zoë, I see your tummy and it makes me think about our babies being in there and it makes you all the more attractive if that's even possible. You're so beautiful Zoë and you always will be. I love you with all my heart, you and our children will have my heart forever. You are one in 7 billion Zoë and I can guarantee that our children will be too." Horatio said warmly and Zoë looked back up at him and felt the love in his heart-felt confession and took a deep breath as she looked into his eyes.

"Read the next chapter in that dream book and it will explain those dreams to you and it will explain that they're very common. A lot of women have the thought that their husbands don't find them very attractive anymore, but believe me; it's quite the opposite. We need to talk to each other about this sort of thing sweetheart; you shouldn't be feeling like this, you've already got enough on your plate. I can help you, I want to help you. I want to be a part of everything, I want to share what you're feeling and what you're going through, I want to take the load off your shoulders. Please let me share this all with you." Horatio said softly as he took hold of her hands and she nodded and rose to her knees and wrapped her arms around him as she knelt in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Horatio but I'm scared that if I'm too clingy or if I rely on you too much then you'll walk away. I know I rely on you too much so it's making the feeling of you walking away feel real." She mumbled into his chest while he lovingly rubbed her back.

"Not at all Zoë, it is my job to support you and it's the best job in the world. I am here for you all the time, you're vulnerable at the moment and you're almost like a puppet with your hormones controlling your actions, I'm here to try and guide those actions and help you feel your best, to help you through the bad and through the good. It is not your job to do any of this alone, you need to let me in so I can help. You're carrying my children Zoë… you're the mother of my 3 daughters, that means we both have an equal amount of load to share, not just you. Do you understand that? I'll never leave you." Horatio said as he rubbed her back gently and then kissed her hair.

"I love you so much Horatio." She cried softly as she allowed her hands to travel around his back to feel his soft cotton shirt.

"I love you so much too, shall we go and relax on the sofa with a hot chocolate and talk about anything that's worrying us? We also need to eat that pasta because I'm afraid that you'll eat me otherwise." Horatio asked softly as he pulled back and gently pulled her fringe from her eyes with a gentle smile. She lightly chuckled and then nodded at him as she placed her hands on his thighs.

"Please, that would be really good." She said as she looked up at him. He smiled warmly and then delicately kissed her forehead before he moved and picked up their bowls while Zoë slowly got up too.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry if I've made you feel as if you couldn't talk to me." Horatio said softly as they walked downstairs together.

"You haven't, it's me and my insecurities." She replied as she held her stomach and slowly walked down the stairs before she reached the bottom.

"You shouldn't have insecurities when it comes to us, I promise you that I will always be there for you, I swear on everything under this roof that I will never leave you." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a more confident smile as Horatio placed both bowls on the side.

"Thank you." She said softly and he smiled warmly at her as he got two mugs out.

"This hot chocolate is already making my mouth water." Horatio said softly and she giggled softly as she wiped the last of her tears as she walked over to Horatio. He knew it would cheer her up as it would remind her of a previous incident.

"Don't go dribbling though." She smiled softly and Horatio nodded with a light chuckle as she placed her hand on his back.

"I leave that to you." He said softly as he glanced back to her and she laughed a little more. She could feel that the painkillers were taking the edge of the pain from her throat and the aching of her belly.

"I still don't know if that was boob leakage or dribble, I'm such a idiot." She smiled softly and then studied the natural smile across Horatio's face.

"I guess we'll never find out." Horatio smiled as he heated the milk up and then made them a hot chocolate while she nodded and giggled lightly again. She knew he always knew how to cheer her up. They walked through to the living room and sat down together as Zoë handed Horatio his bowl of pasta as he placed their drinks on the coffee table. They watched a bit of TV while they ate. They both knew that it was best to wait until after they'd eaten to discuss anything otherwise the pasta wouldn't get eaten at all. Once done, Horatio put the bowls in the dishwasher and sat back down next to Zoë with the hot chocolate in his hand. He lightly took hold of her free hand with his free hand as he looked over to her with a warm smile.

"Anything else bothering you sweetheart?" Horatio asked softly as he played with her fingers and looked at her warmly, lovingly. She looked down and began to cry again as she pulled her hand from his and covered her eyes. Horatio took the mug from her hand and put it on the coffee table and then pulled her towards him after also placing his down too. He put his arm around her and moved his head closer to hers. His other hand lightly rested on her thigh as he began to lightly rub it in hope of it calming her slightly.

"What if I'm not a good mother? What if our children hate me?" She sobbed into his chest as she moved and hugged him tightly.

"You'll be a fantastic mother Zoë; you'll be a natural I guarantee it. Our children won't hate you one bit, they'll love you always just as much as you'll always love them." Horatio assured her while he continued to rub her back.

"How do you know that I'll be a good mother though? How will I know what to do? I've never been a mother before… I've never even held a baby before, Horatio. What if I don't hold them right and I hurt them? People usually have their mothers around to show them what to do, but I don't." She asked him as she took two fistfuls of his shirt and then pulled back to look up at him.

"Zoë, you will be a fantastic mother, you have that nurturing instinct built in already. You have that warm feeling that even makes me feel better when I'm not feeling so good about something. You have more compassion than any other person I've met. Every mother worries when she has her first baby, it's natural. But we have two doctors as very close friends and if you're at all worried about things like that then they will be more than happy to lend us a hand. Alexx will be round quite often anyway, you know she will. She can tell you the basics, so can Nathan, you won't hurt them sweetheart. Don't forget that we have a fantastic midwife, he will teach us how to do everything. I have total confidence in you, I know that you'll be the best mother to walk this planet and I am so honoured to be having children with you." Horatio said softly as he rubbed her thigh and looked into both of her eyes.

"Do I really have that nurturing instinct? Because I sometimes think I'm just a stone-hearted cow. How do you have total confidence in me when I have hardly any in myself?" She asked him as she tried to wipe her tears away with one hand while she placed her other over his hand on her thigh.

"You do have that nurturing instinct, and it will only get stronger the closer we get to the time you give birth. I watch what you do… you're already caring for our babies Zoë, you're talking to them, you're rubbing your stomach, I've even heard you singing to them in the shower already. I see the total love in your eyes when you look down at your belly and when you look at our ultrasound pictures, I can see just how happy you are when we see them again. Can you see the nurturing characteristic that Alexx gives off?" Horatio asked softly and she nodded as she sniffed and wiped her eyes more. "You give that off too sweetheart, you're already a brilliant mother and you're only going to get better." Horatio assured her as he removed his arm from around her to place his palm on her cheek.

"I sing to them?" Zoë asked and Horatio nodded with a warm smile as his eyes skipped from her left to her right.

"See, you don't even realise you're doing it half the time Zoë, it's coming naturally to you, like now I bet you don't even realise you're rubbing your tummy." Horatio said softly and she looked down and then looked up at him when she saw herself doing it. She lightly bit her lip and then looked into his eyes as she raised her eyebrows and tilted her head.

"But you're giving me this lecture about it, but I can see that you don't have confidence in yourself when I know that you're going to be a brilliant Daddy." She said quietly as she looked down to his shirt.

"I know sweetheart, but it's because we're both first time parents, every expecting mother and father has worries. But I'm confident in you, I know you'll have to teach me how to do everything and I look forward to you teaching me, that's where my confidence lies." Horatio said softly as he delicately lifted her head again to look into her eyes.

"But who's going to teach me? I don't know if I can do this Horatio, I was hoping that you could teach me how to do everything because you're very nurturing yourself." She said honestly.

"You can, it's all in there Zoë. Alexx may give us tips on the best way to wind them because she's had experience, but it will come naturally to you, you're a natural at almost everything you do Zoë. I know that once I have our girls in my arms, my natural instinct will kick in too, but I know that your natural instinct is stronger than mine. We're going to worry about this stuff up until their born, but I think that we'll both become a lot more confident once we have them in our arms. You will be the best mother to walk this Earth and our babies will cherish you as much as you cherish them and as much as I cherish you. I promise you Zoë." Horatio assured her as he ran his thumb lightly over her cheek. She gave him a small smile and a nod as she placed her hand over his on her thigh.

"What if I don't hold them right though, I could accidentally hurt them?" Zoë asked as she furrowed her brow again.

"You will hold them right, Zoë. You won't hurt them at all, we're all here to help support you. We're both going to need reassurance Zoë. Alexx, Val and Nathan will be there to give that to us." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she looked a little more confident.

"Can Nathan come and live with us?" She asked with a small smile and Horatio chuckled softly as he glanced down.

"I'm sure he won't be far from living here anyway, the same for Alexx." Horatio smiled at her and she chuckled herself with a nod as she bit her lip and looked down too when he removed his hand from her cheek. They both then looked up at each other again and he could still see that niggling fear in her eyes.

"What about actually giving birth, how can I get both of them out of me? You're a tight squeeze in there, let alone two babies coming out." She questioned with a frown.

"Val as briefed us on all of that, and she will again too. She'll probably take us through it again in a lot of detail and we can discuss everything then, from where you want to give birth to pain medication." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, but there was so much she wanted to talk about.

"Will it change our sex life very much?" She asked as she tilted her head.

"I'd imagine the first few weeks after birth you won't be up for anything that intimate, and I understand that completely, we're both going to be tired as well. I'm also not even sure it's safe to have sex the first few weeks after as your cervix remains open slightly until it closes. So yes it will, but we'll get back to our usual activities a couple of months after. That really isn't something to be worrying about though, Zoë. We can talk to Val about all of that." Horatio said softly and she nodded.

"What if I can't have a natural birth for some reason? I don't want a caesarean." She said quietly.

"We'll talk to Val about that sweetheart, but you should be able to have a natural birth." Horatio said softly and she nodded and then picked up her hot chocolate while her nerves began to calm more.

"What about their health? What if they both have severe asthma and a heart condition? I nearly died so many times as a child because of my asthma." She said as she looked up at him with welling eyes again. But she tried her hardest not to cry as she concentrated on the hot chocolate in her hands.

"Their hearts are healthy and we've heard them beating too. I don't want to upset you sweetheart, but your childhood and their childhood will be completely different, they won't be neglected, they won't have to have their medication handed to them in secret, they won't be left alone if they do have asthma and they have an attack. We will be there to help them if they do suffer from asthma. Asthma is very manageable these days, you know that. You were only so bad as a child because of your father, our girls will not ever experience anything like that." Horatio assured her as he lifted her head once more delicately.

"I still can't help but panic, I was so scared as a child each time I had an attack, I don't want our children to experience that." She said as she looked into his eyes. He saw that basic fear and he could understand where she was coming from, but he knew that their girls weren't going to ever go through something like that.

"They won't have the chance to have a bad attack Zoë, you know that they'll be closely monitored, by you, by me and by Alexx and Nathan and whoever their paediatrician is. If there is a problem, they'll be able to tell before they have an attack. Don't forget that there is a chance that they won't have asthma. You can't work yourself up about things that may not even happen, Zoë." He said softly as he threaded his fingers into her hair.

"I just want them to be so healthy." She replied quietly.

"As does every mother and father, sweetheart. Look at yourself Zoë, you have asthma and your asthma was really bad but you got through it without the support of both of your parents, think just how much better our girls will have it if they did suffer with it? They will always have our support. We'll always be on hand for them." Horatio said softly as he tilted his head.

"I guess that makes sense." She said softly and Horatio nodded with a gentle smile. "I'm still a little scared." She said as she looked up at him before she bit her lip.

"I know sweetheart, every first parent is, I am a little scared too. We're going to be fine though, we have lots of people to help us if we do find we need some help, and help isn't a bad thing. But I know you will be the best Mummy to them that you can be." He said softly and she nodded as she looked up at him with dreamy eyes.

"Thank you Horatio, you're such an incredible husband and you'll be an incredible Daddy too." She said as she leant over and hugged him lightly after she put her hot chocolate down. She then kissed him warmly and felt her worries float away.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" She asked warmly as she pulled back and looked up at him with a tentative smile.

"I think we've addressed it, I'm nervous and scared too, but I know that we'll be fine. I'm just worried that I won't catch on to some of the things that are necessary like changing them so quickly as you will." Horatio said softly and she smiled warmly as she placed her hands on his thigh.

"I think you will, I mean you've had to get me changed a few times and that's a lot harder than changing a baby… believe me." She said with a small smile and he looked at her with a small smile of his own.

"I guess that's true." Horatio said softly and then watched her smile grow. '_He will be an amazing Daddy, he is right, we're going to worry up until we have them in our arms, it's only natural for your first, isn't it? I guess it doesn't help that I'm naturally neurotic anyway.'_ Zoë thought to herself while she rubbed his thigh.

"Babies look so fragile though, my hands are massive compared to yours, I could hurt them quite easily, I don't exactly have the lightest touch." Horatio said softly and Zoë realised that he was just as worried as she was.

"They aren't as fragile as they look, I know that. They're incredibly resilient, I mean look at where they're coming from, they have to come from my vagina, I guarantee that that is a lot more rough and tough than you'll ever be with them. You're the most gentle man ever, there's no way you'll hurt them, if I'm honest, I think you'll be too gentle with them, you'll be hesitant I think." Zoë said tenderly with a slight tone of sarcasm wen referring to where they were coming from. "You will get used to it though, as you say when you first hold them, that instinct will kick in and you will be fine." Zoë said warmly with a gentle smile. "I read a case where you saved a baby from an over turned car, you'll be fine Kitten. It'll come naturally to you." She smiled softly and he nodded with a small smile of his own but she still saw that slight hesitance to believe her too just as she had with him. "Look how you are with children, they find it easy to trust you and put their life in your hands because you have that warm feeling, you have that nurturing characteristic too, I know you'll be fine. We are both just neurotic… we're going to be great parents." She said softly and he relaxed a little, realising that she was right. "What else is bothering you?" She asked softly seeing the slight unease in his eyes.

"It's nothing sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he gave her a small forced smile while he placed his hands over hers.

"We've just agreed to talk about everything handsome, you want to share what I'm feeling just as much as I want to share what you're feeling and make you feel better too." She said as she raised one hand and ran it through his floppy hair.

"It's going to sound really selfish and jealous, but I think you're going to devote all of your time to the girls and there won't be time for me anymore." Horatio said softly as he looked down and pressed his lips together.

"It's not selfish or jealousy, a lot of fathers think that actually. Both of us are going to have to devote most of our time to our girls, but we will have to have our time as well. I will always have time for you handsome; I'd go crazy if I didn't have you and me time. The book I'm reading suggests that we spend as much time doing things together before they're born, like going out for meals and stuff so we can have our time before they arrive. We can do more things together now, in fact I'd love it if we could do more things, perhaps go to the cinema, meals out, or even a couple of weekend getaways. I love spending time with you and we will have our time together when they're born, we may not have as much time admittedly, but we will make time because I know I won't be able to cope if there wasn't that time where I could relax with you." She said softly and Horatio nodded as he rubbed her thigh and hand. "That's really normal Horatio, the same thing crossed my mind, I thought that you'd be too infatuated with our girls to notice me anymore." She said softly as she looked down.

"There will never be a day where I don't notice you and I'd also love it if we could do some more things together before they're born, but I don't want you to overdo yourself." Horatio said softly and she looked up with a smile.

"The thought of being a Mummy is scary, but it's also so exhilarating at the same time." She said with excitement brewing in her eyes.

"My thought's exactly... except I'm going to be a Daddy, not a Mummy." Horatio smiled softly and she bit her lip. '_I love it when he calls me a Mummy or refers to himself as a Daddy.'_ She thought to herself.

"I love you so much, Horatio." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She inhaled and took in his fragrance which calmed her more.

"I love you too, if you get scared or panic about something again, just talk to me, okay? Don't bottle it up." Horatio asked softly and she nodded against the side of his head.

"The same goes for you too." She said tenderly as she pulled away with a gentle smile.

"Yes, I know sweetheart. Is that everything off your chest?" He asked softly and she pressed her lips together.

"Can you please cut your hours down a little more? If you don't want to do that that's fine." She said quietly.

"Of course sweetheart, I'll do that tomorrow. I'll work a day and a half?" He asked softly as he tilted his head and then tucked her fringe behind one of her ears.

"Yeah, that would be good, thank you." She said softly and Horatio nodded as he rubbed her back.

"Okay, a day and a half it is." Horatio said softly.

"Can we go for a walk please?" She asked as she tilted her head again.

"Certainly, will you get a little too hot in that?" Horatio asked warmly.

"Yeah, let me change into some leggings and I'll be right down." She said before she finished her hot chocolate.

"Okay sweetheart." Horatio said as they slowly stood. They took a slow walk up the beach and then relaxed on the sofa together again.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Eric had returned to work but he couldn't keep his mind off Calleigh. He was in one of the labs, working. '_It can't have been her, could it? How could it possibly be her? She died, we found her in her living room. It simply isn't possible for her to be here today, H must be right, she must be impersonating Calleigh. But she's the spitting image of her, and she sounds the same. She has the same mannerisms and everything. There is no way anyone could impersonate her that well. I should have gone to speak with her, I should have heard her out. Then again, Zoë needed me. What if it really was Calleigh? How could I get hold of her? Why did she turn up today of all days? What am I thinking, she isn't Calleigh, don't let yourself believe that she is who she's saying she is because it isn't possible, don't let your wants cloud your judgement.'_ He thought to himself and then moved over to the computer to search her name. '_See, she's dead.'_ Eric thought to himself as he backed off. '_It could be her though, what if she was like Zoë and she wasn't really dead?'_ Eric thought to himself but knew he was letting his desires get the better of him.

'_Don't be stupid, Eric you're trying to deny her death. But if she is here, she couldn't really be dead, could she? She must have been, Alexx did her autopsy, come to think of it, Alexx didn't mention anything earlier, she didn't say anything about Calleigh even though she was standing outside the door. She might know something we don't.'_ Eric thought to himself and then dropped what he was doing and threw his lab coat up and onto the coat rack and walked out. '_Could Alexx have lied to us all this time? Has Calleigh been alive all this time?'_ He thought to himself with a frown.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

He walked through the autopsy doors to see Alexx cleaning one of the bodies. She looked up at him a little startled and frowned when she saw the seriousness in his eyes.

"Alexx, I need to speak with you." Eric said strongly and she looked up at him and stopped what she was doing when she heard his intensity. She gave him a nod and her full attention while she turned to him and turned the water off as he exhaled and then ran a hand through his hair. He dropped his hands to his hips and looked at Alexx with a firm, but curious look in his eyes. But she saw something that was hidden, she saw his desperateness.

"Is Calleigh really dead? Did you perform an autopsy on her?" Eric questioned and he saw the shocked expression cross her face. She then frowned at Eric and thought back to earlier in the day where she'd seen Calleigh at the hospital.

"You saw her too?" Alexx questioned and Eric lowered his eyebrows, Alexx could see that he looked just as confused as she felt. "I thought I was seeing things Eric. Yes I did the autopsy on her, you saw her head there was nothing left in there. You came down here when she was on my table, Eric." She said as she lowered her eyebrows and looked at him as she became to feel a lot more confused.

"We all saw her today, Alexx." Eric said softly as he tilted his head at her.

"Perhaps we all imagined her? We were all very stressed with what happened to Zoë." She said trying to make sense of it herself while she looked at Eric.

"I was speaking with her before Zoë came up to the lab. She said she needed to speak with me to explain everything, but we all saw her dead, we all saw her. I had hoped that you didn't perform the autopsy but she was alive and you were covering for her. It's the only explanation I can come up with, that was Calleigh we saw today, I'm sure of it." Eric said as he looked at Alexx just as mystified as her. Alexx frowned more as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I certainly haven't been covering for her, I wish I was." She said as she shook her head with lowered eyebrows. She felt quite disgusted that Eric thought she'd do something like that to the entire team but could understand why Eric would come up with it. She could see that he was desperate for anything, she could see that he was desperate to believe that the blonde woman was actually Calleigh.

"How long ago was it now?" Alexx asked once she'd calmed her thoughts back down.

"2 years." Eric sighed as he shook his head and then ran his hand through his hair.

"Is it two years exactly? Perhaps we're all subconsciously thinking about her today if it is two years exactly." Alexx asked softly as that was the only explanation she could come up with herself as she put her hands up in submission when she couldn't think of anything else.

"No, it was over two years, and even Zoë saw her. She asked if what she was seeing was real and not one of the hallucinations she has when she arrests. Zoë never even met her." Eric said as Alexx put her hand back on her hip.

"I don't understand Eric, how can she be alive? We buried her, I did an autopsy and she was certainly dead. I have no doubt about that, there was nothing left in her head." Alexx said as she shook her head and then pressed her lips together. She could see that Eric was trying his hardest to try and explain it somehow but Alexx knew that there was no way she was still alive. '_I would have been a little more sceptical if she wasn't shot through the head, but that is certain death.'_ She thought to herself.

"I don't either Alexx, H thinks she's an imposter, but no-one is that good. She had Calleigh's mannerisms, she had Calleighs posture and speech pattern. Surely someone can't have impersonated her… that well anyway?" Eric asked softly and Alexx shrugged while she furrowed her brow.

"If it was an imposter, they would have had 2 years to practice I suppose. You wouldn't believe what plastic surgeons can do these days. If Horatio thinks she's an imposter, then that's more than likely the scenario. You know what Horatio is like, he's never wrong. The only way you'll know is if you do a DNA test on her." Alexx said softly as she tilted her head.

"What's the point, she's dead? She just… she can't be here." Eric said as he began to grow ever more distressed. Alexx could see the situation toying with Eric's heart. She could see that his heart and his brain were fighting against each other and it made her feel so bad for him. '_This woman better watch out, if she is impersonating Calleigh and toying with Eric, then she's going to get a bloody good mouthful from me.'_ Alexx thought to herself when her natural instinct of care and compassion for her colleagues really kicked in.

"Eric, take a deep breath honey. Did she touch anything when she was in? Can you get her prints?" Alexx asked softly as she raised her hand and placed it on his upper arm.

"No, she touched my arm at one point, but I can't get prints or DNA from that." Eric said as he shook his head and looked at her. She could see his stress and exhaled.

"Did she leave a number? Can you ask her to come in?" Alexx asked softly.

"She didn't, I can see if she left it with any of the officers." Eric sighed and she nodded.

"Okay honey, try that. Let me know what you get please." Alexx said softly as she rubbed Eric's arm.

"Okay, thank you Alexx." Eric said before he walked out and found the officers she was talking to earlier in the day. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get her number as she hadn't left it. '_How am I supposed to find her? I really hope this woman isn't pulling our legs, I'd give almost anything to have Calleigh back in my life.'_ Eric thought to himself as he tried to search for her on the internet but couldn't find anything. '_If she was alive, there would be something new on here. Perhaps she really wasn't real? Perhaps Alexx was right and we all imagined her.'_ Eric thought to himself as he sat back in the seat and ran both hands through his hair as he exhaled and stared at Calleigh's profile with the word "DECEASED" written on it in large letters.

He carried on with his work for 30 minutes until his shift ended and he left. He went home and went for a long run to try and cool himself off and try and make sense of the day. When he couldn't clear his head he went back home and had a shower and got into his car. He drove over to Horatio's and Zoë's and pulled up on their drive. He walked up to their door and knocked as he pressed his lips together while he placed his hands on his hips.

"Hey sweetie" Zoë said as she answered the door sweetly with a smile.

"Hey Zo, is H in?" He asked and she nodded as she caught a glimpse of his distressed state.

"Come in." She said softly as she stepped away from the door. He entered and she closed the door as she rubbed her stomach and looked up at Erich warmly still. "Horatio is in the kitchen, would you like a drink?" Zoë asked softly as she began to walk through the hall.

"Please, a glass of water would be quite good right now." He said softly and she nodded as she glanced back.

"Come through." She said softly and he followed her through to the kitchen. Horatio turned around in the kitchen having just made hot drinks for himself and Zoë.

"Eric, is everything okay?" Horatio asked when he saw the distressed look on Eric's face, he could see that something was bothering him.

"I need to talk to you; it's about Calleigh… that woman whoever she is." He asked softly and Horatio nodded. Zoë handed him a glass of water before Horatio handed Zoë her herbal tea.

"Do you guys want your space?" Zoë asked softly as she looked up at them.

"I don't mind Zo." Eric said softly and she looked at him sympathetically when she realised just how confused he was.

"I'll give it to you anyway." She said as she walked through to the living room and sat down slowly with her herbal tea, she picked up her book and flicked the music channel on the TV. She sat back and made herself comfortable while Eric leant on the island counter and looked down at it as he took a deep breath while he frowned at it. Horatio stood the opposite side of the island counter and placed his coffee down and tilted his head at Eric.

"What's the problem Eric?" Horatio said lightly as he gave Eric his attention.

"I think it's really her, H." Eric said as he shook his head and looked up at Horatio while he raised his eyebrows. He then swallowed as he watched Horatio study his desperateness. "But I know it can't be, I'm unsure as to whether I'm kidding myself because I want it to be her. I'm not sure what to think, H." He said honestly as he looked into Horatio's eyes. Horatio could see that Eric's distress was only intensifying.

"Think of it logically, Eric, remove all feeling from your thinking. What is your logical brain telling you?" Horatio asked as he too leant on the island counter and tilted his head more.

"I can't remove the feeling, H." Eric said as he shook his head and looked down. "I don't know if I'm fooling myself into believing that it is her." He said quietly as he took a deep breath. "I want her to be Calleigh." Eric admitted as he looked back up at Horatio. Horatio began to feel very bad for Eric, he could see the torment that Eric was going through and could relate himself to that because he thought he'd lost Zoë for good at one point.

"She died, Eric. We all checked, Alexx performed a proper autopsy on her, she's not with us." Horatio said calmly as he tilted his head more.

"We checked Zoë too, Alexx didn't even pick up on her heartbeat." Eric argued in a whisper as he looked back down.

"Yes, but Zoë was poisoned with tetrodotoxin… Calleigh was shot through the head." Horatio said softly with a warm expression before he sipped his coffee.

"I've been shot in the head H." He said as he looked back up at Horatio, trying to argue with Horatio to prove that what he wanted was right. '_A desperate man will go to desperate lengths for what he wants, I know that better than anyone. I didn't know that they were so close, or that Eric had such intense feelings for her.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he placed his mug back down on the counter.

"Calleigh's was a through and through right through the brain, Eric. No-one could survive that. We all saw brain matter on the wall. It was a nasty scene Eric, I know you want to believe that it's her that is here now, but think about it. How could someone survive that?" Horatio said calmly as his eyes softened more on Eric while he took a deep breath. Horatio hated to see Eric so distressed.

"I can't give up on her H, you must be able to understand that, you didn't give up on Zoë." Eric pleaded Horatio.

"They are two completely different situations Eric. Zoë had been declared dead for a few hours, Calleigh's been gone for over 2 years, you can't let this woman get to you. I think she's after Zoë; she was very interested in Zoë earlier, if that's true and you believe her, that could be the entrance she needs to do what she wants to do. Think about it, she turns up the day that Zoë's viciously attacked? She's at a vulnerable stage right now, I for one am not going to believe this woman because I have a feeling she's up to no good. I looked through Calleigh's head, I'm telling you, Eric, she's dead." Horatio said firmly, protectively and calmly before he sipped his coffee again.

"What am I supposed to do H? I can't help but think it is her. With all due respect, you didn't know Calleigh like I did, and there is no way that is an imposter, her mannerisms and speech pattern were fit to a T. You cannot deny that she isn't the spitting image of Calleigh and has the exact same voice." Eric replied softly, noticing Horatio's defensiveness due to the mentioning of Zoë. Horatio exhaled and briefly looked down at the work surface before he looked back up to Eric with softening eyes and a confident posture.

"I know Eric, and I too thought for a moment that she was Calleigh, but you have to look at the evidence." Horatio said softly just before Zoë walked out into the kitchen with a gentle smile.

"Don't mind me." She said softly as she picked up a banana and a plate. Eric and Horatio then looked back to each other again.

"All she wanted to do was talk, H. I should have heard her out." Eric said softly as Zoë cut the banana up and then reached into the cupboard. Eric then looked over to Zoë and frowned mildly. Horatio glanced over to Zoë when he saw Eric frowning at what Zoë was doing.

"Zoë…" Horatio said gently and she looked round and then licked her fingers as she put the bottle back in the cupboard with an innocent, sweet expression. She then bit her lip as she turned back to the plate.

"It's a craving." She said as she turned to them with the plate of banana drizzled in golden syrup with tomato purée dolloped on the side. She then put a piece into her mouth and held the plate out to Horatio while she savoured the contrasting tastes. He picked a piece up with a grim expression and put a little tomato purée on it. Eric's eyes narrowed on the piece Horatio had taken while he frowned more as his mind was taken completely from Calleigh.

"You're really going to eat that, H?" Eric asked looking a little disgusted and Horatio looked back to Eric with a small unenthusiastic nod.

"He tries what I crave if he's not tried it before." Zoë smiled softly and then held the plate out to Eric with an encouraging smile.

"No thank you Zoë, I'm good." Eric said softly as he pushed the plate away politely.

"Go on try it, you might like it if you like sweet things with a bit of a tangy twist." She smiled softly as Horatio put it in his mouth and ate it just as Eric picked up a piece. Eric looked back to Horatio as he swallowed and watched the face Horatio pulled. Horatio then took a deep breath and looked over to Zoë with a gentle expression.

"It's not the worst thing I've eaten, I'll give you that." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a smile and watched him take a few sips of his coffee. She ate another piece and looked at Eric sweetly, but also cheekily as she could see he really didn't want to try it. He hesitantly ate it and then lowered his eyebrows while he chewed before he swallowed.

"See, it's not too bad, is it?" She smiled brightly and tilted her head.

"I'm not being sick, so I guess not, but I wouldn't eat it again." Eric smiled softly, she then smiled sweetly and walked back through to the living room. Eric took a few sips of water and then looked back up at Horatio after he took a deep breath. "I have to find her H, I know I won't be able to think straight if I don't find her." Eric said softly as he leant back on the counter. They both then looked up and round to the living room when they heard what sounded like the plate hit the floor or coffee table. Horatio's frown was immediately evident as he put his mug down properly.

"I'll be right back." Horatio said softly as he walked out and into the living room while Eric continued to look in the living rooms direction, waiting for Zoë to curse as he'd assumed she'd dropped the plate.

"Zoë?" Horatio questioned loudly. Eric walked in when he heard Horatio's urgency and saw Horatio rolling Zoë onto her left side. He quickly rushed round and crouched to hold her in position too.

"Come on sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he stroked her cheek affectionately as he bent over and looked at her placid, pale face.

"Hey beautiful, are you with me?" Horatio asked softly a few seconds later as she slowly opened her eyes and moved a little. She let out a moan and then moved one of her hands to her stomach while she looked up tiredly to Horatio. Her vision was blurry, but she made out his characteristic red-hair.

"Did you hit your tummy?" Horatio asked softly and she shook her head as she swallowed and then ran her tongue over her lips to moisten them before she swallowed again.

"Sorry, I got up too quickly." She mumbled quietly.

"It's okay sweetheart, don't worry about it." Horatio said softly as she sat up and raised her eyebrows to looked at the both of them sweetly.

"Sorry Eric." She said quietly as she placed her hand on Horatio's thigh and looked at Eric.

"Don't worry." He said softly as Horatio moved to sit behind her and then lifted her onto the sofa.

"What do you want? I'll get it for you." Horatio said softly and saw that her colour had returned.

"I need the loo, I'm not sure you can get that." She said softly with a small smile as she looked at him. He smiled warmly at her and then took her hands.

"Okay sweetheart, slowly." He said softly as he helped her to get up. He walked her through to the bathroom and then walked back into the kitchen as Eric walked into the kitchen and took another sip of his water when he could taste the lingering tomato flavour.

"Is she okay?" Eric asked softly as he looked at Horatio mildly concerned.

"Yes, she'll be fine." Horatio reassured Eric and he nodded. "Have you got a way of contacting her?" Horatio asked softly, resuming their conversation before he took a couple of sips of his coffee.

"No, I have no idea how I'll speak to her." Eric said softly as he looked down to his water.

"If you do speak to her, make sure it's in a public place and please do not give any information on me or Zoë. Don't give her our address, I advise that you don't give her yours either. Message me to let me know where you are meeting her and when, you ring me if you get any trouble at all, okay?" Horatio said softly but Eric could hear the worry in Horatio's voice and knew Horatio was worried for his safety. Eric nodded at Horatio when he saw the seriousness in Horatio's eyes. Zoë walked out and into the kitchen and then got a glass of water.

"Sorry Kitten." She said softly as she put the glass down and then wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back and rubbed her back gently.

"I won't H, don't worry." Eric said softly and Horatio nodded as he looked over to Eric.

"Okay?" He asked Zoë softly and she nodded as she pulled back with a small smile.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" She asked as she looked over to Eric with a warm, inviting expression and smile.

"Oh no thank you Zoë, I've got something I have to do." Eric said softly and she nodded as she pulled back from Horatio fully and picked up her glass.

"Okay sweetie, but you must come over for dinner one evening; we need dinner with Uncle Eric." She smiled softly and Eric smiled at her warmly. Her smile could make almost anyone smile back, no matter how bad they were feeling.

"Of course." He said softly with a smile. Eric said as he got up and then shook Horatio's hand and thanked him. Horatio's phone then rang and he apologised before he answered. Eric walked out with Zoë in front. She opened the door for him and then smiled up at him sweetly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked and she nodded as he stepped out.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she walked out with him and over to his car as he beeped it unlocked.

"Yeah, it's just been a bit of a difficult day." He said softly as they stopped by his car.

"Tell me about it." She said softly and he looked to her and smiled shyly. '_I guess my day couldn't have actually been more difficult than hers and she's still managing to smile.'_ Eric thought to himself as a small smile tugged at his lips. "I don't think we could have had a more hectic day if we tried." She said softly and he nodded in agreement.

"If you need anything, Zoë just ask." He said softly, sincerely as he placed his hand on her upper arm and tilted his head at her.

"Thank you Eric. You too, if you ever need anything, then we're here for you. I'll leave you alone if you want your man-talks with Horatio and I'll try not to interfere by passing out again." She smiled sweetly and he nodded with a light chuckle.

"Thank you for hanging around today, I just wanted to know that you were safe and that knowing you were around with your gun too as well as Horatio, it made me feel safer. I would have worried about your safety if you had gone back to work, he seemed like a real peace of nasty work." She said softly as she let go of him and then began to rub her stomach as she looked up at him with a warm expression.

"Not a problem, I'm glad I could be of help." He said softly as he opened his car door as Zoë stepped back to give him room to get into his car on the drive.

"Eric?" A woman shouted loudly from the path about 30 yards away. Both Zoë and Eric looked over to see the blonde woman rushing over towards them. Eric quickly closed his door as Zoë grabbed hold of his arm and began to panic as she looked back to the house in hope of seeing Horatio come out. '_What's she doing here? How'd she find the house? What's going on?'_ Zoë thought to herself frantically as Eric moved in front of Zoë and made sure she was behind him as she bit her lip as she tried to keep herself calm. Even Eric had begun so suspect something now that the woman had somehow turned up at the house. '_How'd she know this was where Horatio and Zoë live? Calleigh wouldn't have known this was their house.'_ Eric asked himself as he frowned.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Do not step foot on the drive." Eric warned as he put one of his hands back to keep Zoë back. '_Something's not right, how'd she fine their place? She didn't follow me!'_ Eric thought to himself.

"Eric, I need to talk to you, it is important." She pleaded him as she stood on the path. "I've been looking for you Eric, I tried your house but I guess you moved?" She asked as she ran a hand through her hair and glanced up to the large house.

"I haven't moved, I've just been out." He said as he lowered his eyebrows and frowned at her. Calleigh then frowned back as she stepped forwards.

"Don't you live with your girlfriend?" She asked and Eric tilted his head as Zoë moved to the side slightly to look at Calleigh with a frown, she had an idea of where it was going. Eric had picked up on Zoë's hyperventilating while she began to panic.

"Stay behind me Zoë." Eric said firmly as he looked back to Calleigh as she continued to look at Eric with a confused expression.

"Zoë is signalling for help on the driveway." Skyler announced loud enough for the 3 of them to hear. Eric turned to look at the house and tilted his head when he heard the soft woman's voice. A few seconds later, Horatio ran out of the house with his gun in his hand shouting for Zoë. He quickly moved forwards and placed his hand on her back as he stood beside Eric and aimed his gun at the floor just in front of Calleigh. Zoë quickly moved and stood behind Horatio while she placed her hands on his back and calmed her breathing down. '_Is she here to try and hurt me? Horatio said she's not Calleigh, but she looks like the photo's Eric had shown me.' _Zoë thought as Calleigh swallowed when she saw the intense glare in Horatio's eyes. She stepped back and raised her hands in submission as her eyes widened.

"Off this property now." Horatio ordered firmly as he moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Eric to shield Zoë as best they could. '_H was right, she must be after Zoë, why else would she turn up at this house?!'_ Eric thought to himself.

"Horatio, just let me explain please. Eric, I'm not going to hurt your girlfriend, I promise." She begged and both Horatio's and Eric's frowns deepened. '_What?'_ Horatio thought to himself.

"I don't have a girlfriend." Eric said firmly as he frowned more at her and glanced up to Horatio as he tilted his head at the blonde woman.

"Is she your wife? Are you married now too?" Calleigh asked as she frowned back at him and placed a hand on her hip.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Eric said as he shook his head becoming even more confused.

"Zoë..." She said as she tilted her head.

"Zoë's not my girlfriend or wife." Eric scoffed with a chuckle as Zoë moved to hug Horatio's arm and squeezed in between both Horatio and Eric.

"Zoë go inside beautiful." Horatio said softly as he glanced to her before he set his eyes back on the blonde woman.

"You're married to Horatio?" Calleigh asked Zoë as she took a step closer to the drive with a curious and confused expression.

"Do not move, I will not hesitate to shoot." Horatio warned lowly as Zoë began to rub her stomach as she scowled at the blonde woman.

"That can't be Calleigh, can it?" Zoë asked Horatio quietly as she looked up at him. Horatio pressed his lips together and placed his free hand around Zoë's shoulders while he continued to glare dangerously at Calleigh. Zoë put on arm around his waist and stood close to him, with her belly against his hips and waist.

"You're not with Zoë?" Calleigh asked Eric and he shook his head again with a frown himself.

"Fuck sake, what is it with people and assuming I'm with Eric just because he's younger than Horatio." Zoë growled at her as she took a step towards Calleigh, she could feel her mood darkening rapidly and Horatio knew it to. Horatio gently pulled her back and stepped in front of her again, but didn't stand right next to Eric so Zoë could see what was going on.

"Get off this property or I will arrest you. If you want to talk to Eric, you go elsewhere, not our house." Horatio warned lowly.

"When did you become such an arse Horatio?" Calleigh questioned firmly as she put her hands on her hips and glared back at him.

"Excuse me?" Horatio questioned, slightly shocked as he raised his eyebrows.

"You heard what I said." She replied lowly.

"I became an arse when you started harassing us, I perceive you as a threat to my wife and children. You are not the first to try and get close to harm her." Horatio said firmly as he took the safety off and tightened his lips. She saw the fire in his eyes and knew that it wouldn't take much for him to pull that trigger.

"I am not a threat, I am Calleigh." She said as she removed her hands from her hips and gestured to herself.

"Prove it." Eric said as he stepped closer to Zoë and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I will, take DNA if you want!" She said as she pulled a strand of hair out. "Do you have any swabs on you?" She asked and Eric quickly opened his back door and rooted through his kit and moved closer to her with a swab. Horatio moved to stand in front of Zoë more as Eric walked over to the blonde woman. She opened her mouth and he took the swab and then rang the lab, they said that a CSI would be by to collect the DNA in a few minutes.

"Do you believe me now I've given you my DNA?" She asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Not until we get the results." Horatio said as Eric moved back with his hand on his gun.

"Don't you start too, Eric." Calleigh asked as she shook her head.

"Horatio is right, you are a potential threat to Zoë and the both of us right now." Eric replied firmly. '_The Mala Noche have their hands in pockets everywhere… they want us dead, this could be the way to do it.'_ Eric thought as be began to think a little more sceptical.

"I'm not a threat, just hear me out." She pleaded.

"We're listening." Eric said as all 3 of their eyes were on Calleigh.

"I wasn't killed, it was my sister." She sighed as she looked at them.

"Calleigh doesn't have a sister." Eric replied sharply as his grip tightened on his gun as his eyes narrowed on the blonde woman.

"I didn't know that either until the few weeks before. We were separated at birth, she is my identical twin. Check our genes, she suffered with reoccurring cancer, her p53 gene was damaged, mine isn't, then cross-check that with my DNA that you got when I started working for the lab." She said and Eric then told the CSI who collected the sample them to bring printouts of Calleigh's original DNA sample, the DNA sample from the body that was found and the latest sample that she'd just given, he also told the CSI to keep it quiet.

"That night everything happened… it haunts me every single day." She said as she shook her head and looked down to the concrete. "I had kicked Jay out for slapping me, I then had some vodka because I thought it would help, but it didn't, it exacerbated things to the point of me writing a suicide note, I tried to kill myself but I couldn't, I tried to down a bottle of vodka to kill myself, but I just threw it straight back up. Brynn Collins, my sister, she came round because I called her as I didn't know who else to turn to. I then went to the shop to get some headache pills while she made us something to eat. I came back and I found her… I saw my sister on that sofa and I just ran. I didn't know what to do or where to go, I just ran. I've spent the last two years in California, trying to re-build my life but it's no good. I can't deal with the guilt." She said and they all looked at her with shocked frowns. Eric's frown deepened considerably as he shook his head.

"Calleigh would not have run, she wouldn't have turned to alcohol and she wouldn't have contemplated suicide." Eric snapped at her when his brain kicked in and told him that she couldn't be Calleigh.

"I am a coward, I know! But I did those things. Don't make me feel worse about it, I'm admitting this to you, the first time I've spoken of it to anyone!" She snapped back at him with tears in her eyes.

"Calleigh knew she could come to me if she had a problem, get off this property, you're not Calleigh, you've just proved that to us!" Eric snapped back at her.

"I couldn't Eric! I had fallen so low in my life that I didn't know who to turn to. I ran because I knew Jay had done it, I knew he'd come after me if he ever saw me about and I couldn't risk it." She raised her voice.

"If you had come straight to us, we could have sorted it out, it took months to put Jay away for Calleigh's murder and he then went on to murder another woman! We couldn't put him away until Zoë looked over the case and got him to confess. She put herself in harm's way to get Jay. Calleigh was a smart woman, she would have come straight to us, she knew that he could potentially kill again and that is exactly what he did!" Eric replied snappily.

"You put him away?" Calleigh asked Zoë softly and Zoë nodded with tight lips while she continued to scowl at her.

"Thank you." Calleigh said softly as she nodded at Zoe. They all saw the genuine relief in her eyes but refused to believe that it actually was genuine. "I wasn't thinking straight Eric, I panicked and I ran as far as I could. I'd just seen my sister dead in front of me, how do you think I felt! It wasn't just me I was protecting, I ran for other reasons." She begged him.

"What other reason would cause you to run and not report your sisters murder?!" Eric questioned firmly, loudly.

"I was pregnant Eric!" She snapped at him sharply. She then ran a hand through her hair as she looked down at the floor. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she looked back up at them. "Jay found out that I was pregnant as I had accidentally sent him the message instead of my sister. He swore to kill me and an hour later, my sister is dead on my sofa. It wasn't even his child!" Calleigh begged as tears began to slowly roll down her cheeks before she looked back down at the floor and covered her face with one of her hands. Horatio and Zoë just stood there silently, both were stunned and unsure what to think anymore. She was very convincing, but Zoë remained sceptical more so than Horatio. '_She'd run from Jay to save her baby, but she downed nearly a bottle of vodka and nearly killed herself a couple of hours before hand? Something isn't adding up right here…'_ Zoë thought to herself.

"You were pregnant with who?" Eric asked as he softened his tone as he swallowed.

"You, Eric… you have a son, he's a year and 5 months." Calleigh said and Eric looked at her shocked, his mouth fell open as his eyes widened. Zoë and Horatio also looked over to Eric with raised eyebrows and wider eyes. Eric blinked a few times and then swallowed. He altered his posture and compose himself.

"How do you know he's mine?" Eric questioned as Horatio and Zoë stood there shocked and silent.

"He's the spitting image of you Eric, look." She said as she stepped forward after pulling a photo from her pocket. She held it out to him and he moved closer to look at it. He swallowed as he looked down at the boy who looked just like himself as a child. He frowned and blinked a few times before he looked back up at her.

"What's his name?" Eric asked quietly he could feel himself fall into completely believing her that instant.

"Tyler Delko." Calleigh replied quietly as she looked down. "I had to get away, if he had found that he'd killed my sister and not me, he would have come after us. I moved to California as I met a guy online a few months earlier and we became good friends, I didn't know who else to turn to. I've been with him for the past two years, but we fell out because I wanted to find you. It's why I couldn't kill myself, if I wasn't pregnant I would have; I had sunk so low…" She said as she looked at him.

"Excuse me…" Zoë said firmly, pushing in on the situation. Horatio looked down to her with wide eyes. He didn't want her to get into the middle of it. Both Calleigh and Eric looked to her as she tilted her head at Calleigh. "You said you ran because you were pregnant… yet you downed a bottle of vodka and nearly killed yourself a few hours earlier? That doesn't sound like you cared about the pregnancy at all. This is a really twisted story." Zoë said firmly and Eric nodded and looked back to Calleigh.

"She's right." Eric said as he shook his head at Calleigh.

"I changed my mind, I was going to kill myself, I wanted to, but I couldn't because of the pregnancy. I downed that vodka because I didn't know what else to do. If you don't believe me then just let the DNA talk for me. I know it's going to come back a match. Eric, I promise you that I am telling you the truth. I know it all sounds twisted, but there was so much going on in my life, I was confused." Calleigh begged as Eric looked back down to the picture. Even he couldn't deny that the little boy looked exactly like him.

"I have a son?" Eric asked and she nodded.

"I couldn't go through with an abortion, so I brought him up with Tom." She said as she looked down. "I'm so sorry, I really am so sorry, but I did what I thought was best, I really thought it was the best. Ty is getting inquisitive, and that was the point where I decided I had to come and find you again. When I saw you with Zoë earlier, I thought you and she were together and having children, so I left as I thought you didn't need me in your life messing things up and ruining your new relationship. But I can't say to Tyler that he can't see his father, he knows who you are, he likes to look at your picture and points to the similarities. I know he's your son, I compared the dates when I found out and we had slept together then." She said quietly as she looked at Eric.

"You were with Jay when you slept with me?" Eric questioned and she nodded, she looked guilty as sin.

"I need a DNA test or that child isn't mine." Eric said as he shook his head and gave Calleigh the photograph back with tight lips.

"I've got his DNA results here, along with yours." She said as she pulled out two sheets of paper and handed them to him.

"This means nothing to me, I can't read these." He said as he looked at all of the different black lines on the paper. '_The techs and computers usually tell us if it's a match.'_ Eric thought to himself.

"Pass them here, Eric." Zoë said and he moved back and handed them to Zoë as she let go of Horatio and then looked at the two sheets of paper. She focused on them and matched up specific lines in Tyler's strip to Eric's strip. "He's your son, Eric." Zoë said softly as she handed him the paper back. He swallowed and looked at Zoë for a few seconds. He then looked down to the paper and tried to make everything out.

"Show me?" Eric asked her and she moved forward and talked him through what it meant while Horatio moved forwards to stay close to Zoë while he kept his eyes on Calleigh too.

"Are you a genetic specialist in the lab?" Calleigh asked warmly.

"No, I'm a Detective, but I have specialities in a variety of areas, including genetics." She said and Calleigh looked shocked as she gawped at Zoë.

"Sorry, I didn't expect that." Calleigh said softly when she closed her mouth and stopped gawping at her.

"Because I'm 'pretty' right?" Zoë asked bitterly and Calleigh nodded as she looked down. She'd been caught prejudging Zoë. Horatio knew that if she were Calleigh, she and Zoë have definitely not got off to the best start. What made is worse was that he could see jealously beginning to build in Calleigh's eyes as she looked Zoë up and down.

"You shouldn't made assumptions like that, you should have also had enough experience as a CSI to know that someone's appearance is not the entire picture." She said back bitterly and Calleigh looked at her a little surprised and nodded. '_Wow, she's got a sting.'_ Calleigh thought to herself as she looked to Horatio briefly before looking back to Eric who looked a little unsteady on his feet.

"Eric, are you okay sweetie?" Zoë asked as she placed her hand on his back. He swallowed and looked at her as he took a deep breath.

"I think I need to sit down." He said as he swiped his forehead and took a couple of shallow breaths. Zoë quickly pulled his car door open and sat him down and put his head between his legs. She stood by him and held her hand against his back to keep him in the position while Calleigh stepped forwards.

"Stay right there." Horatio warned as he moved closer to Zoë and raised his eyebrows at Calleigh.

"I am not a threat, Horatio." She said calmly as she put her hands back up in submission.

"Yes you are, I do not know if you are in fact Calleigh, but if you are I don't know what you've been doing these past years, you could have got into the wrong crowd." Horatio growled as he tightened his grip on the gun.

"There is no need to get so defensive." She said calmly as she stepped back again.

"He's doing his best to protect me, you can't just waltz back into their lives and expect them to drop everything and trust you." Zoë snapped as she glared at Calleigh.

"I don't expect anyone to drop anything. I came here to tell Eric of his son and to explain everything. I'm just a little shocked at the change in Horatio." Calleigh said calmly.

"What we've been through is enough to change anyone. I'm pregnant, can you blame him for trying his best to protect me? I was nearly killed today… again, criminals will do anything to get to me right now, Horatio knows that better than anyone, so can you blame him?" Zoë snapped at her she swallowed and then shook her head at Zoë. '_Horatio was always very protective of his team, so I guess I can see why he's extremely protective of his pregnant wife.'_ Calleigh thought to herself as she stepped back.

"Feeling better?" She asked Eric softly and he nodded as he sat back up and then slowly stood up. He held onto the car door for support as Zoë stepped back and closer to Horatio.

"I think I'm in shock." Eric said softly and Zoë nodded as she lightly rubbed his arm.

One of the hummers turned up and Natalia jumped out and then handed Eric what he'd asked for. She stopped and briefly explained the results to the 3 of them before she turned and looked at Calleigh. She then looked back down to the floor and walked back over to the hummer and drove off.

"You really are Calleigh?" Eric asked as he thought back to what Natalia had said and she nodded.

"I've been trying to tell you, but I understand that you didn't believe me. It has been two years after all." She said softly and he nodded as he looked at her wide-eyed. '_Calleigh isn't actually dead? She's alive and has been all this time? I have a son with Calleigh?'_ Eric questioned in his head.

"I'm so sorry." Eric said as he moved towards her and then embraced her in a hug as Horatio lowered his gun fully and pulled Zoë moved closer to him. Zoë wrapped an arm around Horatio's lower back and watched Calleigh and Eric hug.

"I'm the one that is sorry, Eric. I hope you can forgive me." She said softly and he nodded as he pulled back from her and lightly cupped one of her cheeks to look into her eyes.

"I'm just so happy you're alive, we all thought you were dead." Eric said and she nodded and pressed her lips together as she fought the tears back after an emotional reunion.

"Will you see Tyler?" She asked after she swallowed the lump in her throat away.

"Of course, but please give me some time. This needs to sink in." Eric said softly and she nodded as she placed her hands on his biceps.

"I understand Eric, thank you though." She said warmly. She stepped closer to Horatio and Zoë but Horatio moved the both of them back a step and wrapped his arm around Zoë's shoulders to pull her closer to him.

"Do not come closer, you may be Calleigh, but a lot changes in a few years." Horatio said and she swallowed when she saw the danger in his eyes. '_She could be working for anyone. She might be telling the complete truth, but I'm not going to take that risk. Anyone of the criminals here in Miami could have hired her to get close to Eric so she could get close to us. I might be over-reacting, but I'd rather be safer than sorry. Why after 2 years would she just turn up out of the blue?'_ Horatio thought to himself as he pressed his lips together.

"I can see that." Calleigh said softly as her eyes fell to Zoë and her belly. "You're the father, Horatio?" She asked and Horatio nodded with a deep frown.

"Of course he's the bloody father, he's my husband." Zoë snapped as she frowned at Calleigh and took a step forwards, becoming highly defensive.

"I was only asking, I mean, you're 25? I don't know your backstory…" Calleigh asked as she lowered her eyebrows a little as she looked at Zoë and realised she'd struck a chord when Zoë's glare became a lot more threatening. Horatio could see the jealousy in Calleigh's eyes and knew that it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Zoë, calm down sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he rubbed her back after pulling her back into the safety of his arms. He knew that their age was a very sensitive subject for Zoë anyway and when she's got hormones rushing around her body because of the pregnancy, he knew for certain the situation wasn't going to be pretty at all.

"If you say one more thing about our ages, I will knock you out. Age is a number, it is of no relevance. I fell for Horatio, he fell for me, we can't help that." Zoë growled lowly as she began to rub her belly a little more as her other hand which was around Horatio had taken a tight hold of his shirt.

"Don't threaten me." Calleigh argued as Eric took a step back and saw both women becoming very defensive. He swallowed and looked at the both of them as Calleigh placed her hands on her hips to take a strong stance.

"I will threaten you all I like as you're on our property messing with Eric's head and telling me that I'm too young for Horatio." She said firmly as she let go of Horatio and took a step forwards before Horatio gently pulled her back again.

"You've got some mouth, I didn't think Horatio would ever go for someone like you." Calleigh muttered with tight lips, jealousy was evidence in her words. '_What's she got to be jealous of? Maybe she doesn't like that Zoë joined after she left?'_ Horatio thought to himself, Eric was thinking along the same lines.

"Calleigh, don't." Eric warned as he took another step back with a deep frown himself.

"You're siding with her?" Calleigh asked in disbelief as he backed up to Zoë to stand beside her.

"Yes, I am because you're the one that is out of order. You have no right to comment on their age or anything like that. You have nothing to do with them." Eric said firmly.

"Horatio is old enough to he her father." Calleigh said as she gestured to them. Horatio stood there gobsmacked as he raised his eyebrows and allowed his jaw to slack. '_Two years really does change someone, Zoë's about to fly off the handle and I can't say I don't blame her. I should get her in, this is between them two, not including Zoë and myself.'_ Horatio thought to himself when he felt Zoë tense.

"Just who do you think you are?" Zoë questioned as she stepped forwards and placed her hands on her hips with a vicious glare.

"Calleigh Duquesne." She replied strongly as she glared back to Zoë. '_What is going on? She is Calleigh, but Calleigh would never start an argument about something like that! She's being childish, she's being arrogant and she's being damn rude. Calleigh is none of those things. She looks intensely jealous, could that be why she's saying this stuff?'_ Eric thought to himself as he swallowed and looked to Zoë. He also knew that she was going to fly off the handle.

"What does it matter to you about our ages? Does it affect you? Will it ever affect you? No, it's none of your God-damn business, Calleigh Duquesne. At least I don't sleep with two different men and get my sister killed and then lie to everyone who ever cared about me and about my death. If you can pass judgement on us about our age, then I'm going to pass judgement on you and call you a manipulative lying cold-hearted slut." Zoë growled at her and then watched the anger grow on Calleigh's face more as Calleigh's mouth fell open just as Horatio's did more so. Eric looked back to Zoë, but both he and Horatio knew that Zoë didn't mean it, they knew exactly what she was doing and she was teaching Calleigh not to pass judgement on those she doesn't know. They knew it was one of her mind-games.

"I said leave it Calleigh." Eric warned as Calleigh took another step onto the drive which caused Horatio's hand to tighten involuntarily on the gun as he pulled Zoë back into his harms again.

"She has no right to be saying that!" Calleigh raised her voice as Eric as she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Exactly! I don't have any right just as much as you don't have any right to comment on our lives and what we do with our lives. I don't actually mean that Calleigh Duquesne, because I know not to pass judgement on those I don't know. I said that to shock you and show you what you'd just done to both Horatio and I, it's not nice, is it? I'm sick of people looking at our age before taking a look at us! He's been by my side since day 1, he's saved my life a numerous amount of times. He put himself in harm's way to protect me and our other daughter when we were held captive. You will never understand what I have with Horatio if you're too absorbed in looking at our ages and thinking you're right and trying to make yourself look better. He is an incredible man and his age never crosses my mind, so it shouldn't ever cross yours too, and for your information, I am 29, not 25." Zoë growled at her and Calleigh stepped down when she saw Eric and Horatio getting defensive too. Zoë turned to Horatio and then began to cry as she wrapped her arms around his waist while she buried her head into his chest. Calleigh swallowed and took a few more steps back and blinked a few times.

'_What was that? I've just upset both Horatio and his wife. I don't have a right to pass judgement on them, she's right. Why would I get so defensive over something that doesn't even concern me? Who have I become? It's not just them that has changed over the past two years, I have too, but I haven't even noticed it. I guess I'm jealous of the friendship she has with Eric? They look to have a very close relationship, close enough for me to think that they were going out. I guess I'm also jealous of the fact that Horatio hired her after me… she's obviously better than me… I really should apologise.'_ Calleigh thought to herself as she swallowed and looked down at the concrete.

"I'm sorry, I was out of order. I really am sorry, it's been a stressful day." Calleigh apologised as she looked up at them and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Excuse me, _you've_ had a stressful day?" Zoë mumbled as she glanced back to Calleigh who swallowed again. '_She's right, I've had quite a good day compared to her… she was nearly killed, she could have lost her children…'_ Calleigh thought to herself as she pressed her lips together and then raised her eyebrows.

"Right, yeah, I'm sorry again." Calleigh apologised as Eric rubbed Zoë's back and looked from Zoë to Calleigh a few times. Zoë managed to calm herself down enough to give Calleigh a nod before she looked at up Horatio. He knew she wanted to go in. '_She's had enough stress for one day.'_ Horatio thought to himself as he lightly rubbed her back and then kissed the top of her head.

"How old is your other daughter? What's her name?" Calleigh asked softly and curiously but Zoë burst into tears again as Eric shook his head at her frantically. Calleigh frowned at Eric and then looked back to Horatio and Zoë.

"Come on, you need to rest." Horatio said softly as he played with her hair and she nodded as she took two fistfuls of his shirt. Horatio put his arm around her and began to walk in with her while he rubbed her back.

"What did I say?" Calleigh asked Eric quietly and Zoë turned to her with fire in her eyes.

"We lost her in my 19th week of pregnancy, I was kidnapped and they killed her. That's why Horatio is so protective, he is not an arse; he is doing his best to protect his family. If you call him an arse again, I will do my damn best to show you what a real arse is." Zoë cried at Calleigh. Calleigh swallowed as her eyes widened as she took a sharp in-take of air.

"I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to upset you." Calleigh apologised as she quickly rushed up the drive in order to try and comfort Zoë and really apologise for everything but Zoë tensed.

"Don't touch me." She raised her voice frantically as she moved behind Horatio as his grip of his gun tightened involuntarily again.

"Please, back off Calleigh." Horatio warned lowly as he stepped forwards and glared dangerously at her.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise, I wanted to say sorry, I really didn't mean to upset you or snap at you earlier, I didn't mean anything of what I said." She said as she stepped back and looked at Horatio while she shook her head. She then swallowed as she looked at him, hoping he'd ease off.

"Eric." Horatio said as he looked over to him and he nodded and then pulled Calleigh away and down to the bottom of the drive again while Zoë walked in with Horatio.

"Where are you staying?" Eric questioned as he moved Calleigh to the path.

"I don't know yet. I was going to find a hotel." She replied as she shrugged.

"Where's Tyler?" He asked with a mild frown.

"He's still in California with Tom." She replied as she looked to him before glancing to the house, slightly bothered by the way she'd acted towards Zoë and Horatio.

"Go to mine, I'll see you in a bit." He said as he handed her his house keys.

"But, Eric–" She said before he cut her off.

"Calleigh, you need to leave now, please. They do not need this today of all days. She was nearly killed, they need their space and you're only stressing them out. Go back to mine and we can properly talk there. But you need to leave now, please. I will meet you at mine later." Eric cut her off firmly. She pressed her lips together and then nodded as she took a step back.

"Horatio knows me Eric, why won't either of them trust me. It's like she's scared of me." Calleigh asked with a mild frown.

"Think about it Calleigh. You were a CSI. Put the pieces of the puzzle together." Eric nearly snapped at her and she knew she was pushing his limits and she could clearly see that he cared about both of them a heck of a lot.

"Sorry Eric, I'll see you back at yours. Thank you." She said quietly and Eric nodded.

"I'm sorry Calleigh, but please just leave now." Eric asked calmly as he took a step back. She nodded and then walked back down the path. He watched her walk away before he walked back into their house, becoming quite concered that Calleigh had upset the both of them after a very stressful day. He saw Horatio holding Zoë and trying his best to soothe her, it was clear that Zoë was very upset and that Horatio wasn't happy at all.

"You guys okay?" Eric asked softly as he placed his hand on Zoë's arm and they nodded at him.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Zoë mumbled as she turned her head to look at him with tears falling from her eyes and he nodded. She continued to hold Horatio tightly while he rubbed her back as he looked to Eric for his answer as he wasn't sure if Eric was okay at all.

"Yeah, I think I'm just in shock at the moment. I can't understand how any of this is possible. It doesn't seem real, I can't get my head around it." Eric said softly and she nodded. She pulled away from Horatio and then gently hugged Eric as she could see he needed some comfort too.

"You should probably go and see her Eric. Talk through everything with her calmly, a shouting match across our drive probably isn't the best way to talk about such subjects." Zoë said softly and Eric nodded.

"Yeah…" He agreed softly.

"If you need anything, please let us know. If you need to talk then let us know, our door is always open for you, Eric." Zoë said softly and sincerely.

"Thank you Zoë." Eric said softly and Zoë then pulled away and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't push her away, I know you have strong feelings for her, but also don't jump into anything with her if she's left that Tom guy. Just think about everything, Eric." Zoë said softly and Eric nodded as Zoë stepped back towards Horatio and placed her arm around his lower back.

"I have a son?" Eric asked quietly as he looked down to the floor as he swallowed.

"Take it slowly, if you need money or a place to stay, please ask. If you and Calleigh come to an agreement that you'll share custody over Tyler and you need a bigger place, then ask, we'd be more than happy to get you a bigger place as we know that money can be tight." Zoë said softly as she looked at Eric warmly.

"Thank you." Eric said softly and sincerely as he nodded at them both. Neither of them wanted to congratulate him as they weren't sure how he'd react, they could see the total shock he was in.

"Drive safe." She said softly and he then turned after he nodded, still looking shocked. She walked with him to the door and then closed it after him and turned to Horatio as she dried her eyes. She stood up straight and took a deep breath and exhaled everything away. She then walked over to Horatio with a mischievous smile tugging at her lips as her mood quickly changed to an erotic, sexy mood. She then wrapped her arms around Horatio's neck and began to passionately kiss him.

"Bed, please? My hormones are going stir crazy, I need you." She asked softly as she pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"Are you sure you're up for that?" Horatio asked as he saw the devilish look in her eyes and she nodded seductively and confidently as she took his hands and bit her lip. Anyone would have thought that they'd just had a normal day.

"Please." She begged and he nodded and then slowly walked up the stairs with her. He knew it was also going to calm him right down and that he could do with a bit of intimacy with Zoë.

Meanwhile, Eric was driving home, still in a state of shock. '_I have a son? Calleigh is alive? Calleigh has been alive all this time? She's been living in California with another guy? I have a son with Calleigh? Another man has been bringing up my son? She lied to all of us. She was just protecting Tyler though, surely? If she wanted protection, she should have come straight to us. Does she realise just how much she hurt the team? Just how much she hurt me? Can I just accept her back into my life with open arms? I've wished for her to still be here these past two years, but now that wish has come true I just don't know what to do.'_ He thought to himself but was violently pulled from his thoughts as he nearly ran over a woman and her child as they crossed the road. He stopped inches from the mother. She quickly ran across the road with her child and Eric carried on, shocked and startled. He drove a lot more carefully. '_Stop thinking about all of this and concentrate on driving for now.'_ Eric thought to himself as he sat up straight and took a very deep breath. Eric carried on driving and then stopped at his road.

"Calleigh is at my house right now…" He said to himself as he pulled over and then rubbed his face. '_What am I supposed to say to her? Why didn't she come to me when she was struggling? I guess she's a little like Zoë in that sense though, won't ask for help even if she needs it. How did her father not know? He didn't know anything of it! He didn't even mention that Calleigh had a sister when we brought him in to identify her. How did Alexx not pick up on the previous cancer stuff in Calleigh's sister? Did she not perform the whole autopsy? How can I possibly have a son? We used a condom.'_ He thought to himself as he slowly pulled off and crawled down the road slowly in the car. He parked up on his drive and then got out. He rubbed his face as he walked up his path to his front door and then knocked so Calleigh would let him in.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

She opened the door and then stood back as he entered. She didn't say a word for a few minutes as she could see the sheer shock on his face. '_I guess he's taking it better than I had expected.'_ Calleigh thought to herself as she closed the door after him when he silently walked through to his kitchen, hunched over with a blank expression. '_Oh my, I guess he is taking it as bad as I thought he would. He's literally walking like an ape dragging his knuckles along the ground.'_ She thought to herself as she bit her lip and lightly frowned.

"Eric, I am truly sorry for all of this, I know it is a massive shock to you, I do completely understand." Calleigh said softly as she followed him through to the kitchen. She couldn't handle the silence anymore, the tension that was building got too high for her. She watched him flick the kettle on before he leant on the work surface with his back to her. She could see that he was consciously maintaining a steady breathing pattern. '_I guess I'd be the same if someone I knew walked up to me after two years and told me that I had a son.'_ She thought to herself.

"Would you like a coffee?" He asked quietly. '_Is he angry? Upset? Distraught? Happy? Confused? I do not know what he is thinking right now. I wish he'd give me something to go on.'_ She thought to herself.

"Please." She said softly and he pulled two mugs from the cupboard. She could see that he was tense.

"I thought you were dead, Calleigh." Eric said flatly as he put the coffee in the mugs before the sugar and milk.

"I am so sorry, but you have to believe me, I did it to protect Tyler. I knew he was never Jay's, I knew he was yours. I was going to tell you after I had spoken to my sister. I really was. The stress of work, the stress of knowing I was pregnant and with a man that hated children and was a complete jerk, the stress of having to tell you that I was pregnant and to tell you that I slept with you while with Jay. I knew you didn't want a child, but I couldn't go through with an abortion. You weren't ready for a baby, Eric, even I know that. I couldn't do any of it Eric." She begged quietly as she stood in his kitchen.

"You have to understand that is this a lot to sink in, especially after today." He said as he turned around to her and she nodded as she pressed her lips together and looked up at him understandingly.

"I know it is Eric, and I don't expect anything from you at all. I don't expect you to support me and Tyler, I don't expect you to drop everything and start a new life and I don't expect you to step up and be become a father to Tyler overnight. Eric, I simply needed to tell you." She said as she shook her head softly as she looked at him and furrowed her brow as Eric swallowed and turned back around.

"Another man brought Tyler up?" Eric asked lowly and she pressed her lips together.

"I knew you were not ready for fatherhood, Eric. That I don't blame you for at all, please understand that. I wanted the best life for him and at that point in time it was to rid my life from Miami and start fresh. It was a confusing time and I'd convinced myself that the best thing for Tyler was to not have a father. Tom is not his father, he doesn't call Tom his dad; he knows he's not. Tom just helped me start new." She said softly.

"I would have stepped up to fatherhood Calleigh. It took two of us to create him, it should have taken the both of us to bring him up too. The least you could have done was told me." Eric said lowly as he poured the water into both mugs once the kettle was boiled. "How'd you meet him? When? You weren't sleeping with him at the same time were you? Are you with him now?" Eric questioned when Calleigh didn't say a word. She looked down at the work surface and knew that she had done wrong, but she knew she couldn't change the past.

"I met him online, we had been chatting for months, we developed a strong friendship and we'd often Skype. I had never met him in person before moving up to California. He knew I was pregnant, I told him as soon as I found out and he advised me to talk to you. I texted Brynn, my sister that I was pregnant and that I really needed to talk. When I didn't get a text or call back from her, I rang her and asked her to come over, which she did. I then told her everything. She said she'd put on dinner while I went to the shop and when I came back, she was gone… I tried to get a pulse but when I didn't, I just ran and I realised I'd texted Jay instead by accident. I ran as far as I could and then rang Tom. He told me to go to California and I did, he met me and he made it all better. All I wanted to do was rid my past from my memories, I didn't want anything to do with anything from Miami." She said as Eric placed her coffee in front of her.

"You ran to a stranger that you had never met with my son? You let another man bring up my son without even telling me? I couldn't think of a worse betrayal, Calleigh. I would have stepped up to the mark, I would have put Jay away that instant, instead he killed again and you ran off with another man with my son. You denied me of the privilege to bring up my own flesh and blood." Eric exhaled with his back to her. She closed her eyes and looked down to the floor. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Are you with him now?" Eric asked as he turned around and she nodded at him while she swallowed.

"We're on a break, I think. He said that I shouldn't tell you, that it had been too long. But I can't have Ty growing up not knowing his father, that's not fair on him and I couldn't tell Tyler that Tom was his dad. He's got Tyler at the moment." Calleigh said softly as she studied Eric's face. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Eric leant on the counter and then rubbed his face and eyes after he pushed her coffee over to her. He took a deep breath and just looked down at the table. "I understand if you need time, you can have all the time you want, but I would like you to be in Tyler's life, if you'd allow it." Calleigh said softly as she stepped forwards and lowered her head to try and make some eye contact with Eric.

"I'd like to be a part of his life, but I need to take this slow, I need time to get my head around this." Eric said as he lifted his head and looked at her and Calleigh nodded

"As I say, you can take as long as you like." She said and Eric nodded as he swallowed.

"Can I see him again?" Eric asked and she pulled the small photo from her pocket and handed it to him again.

"He's got your eyes." Eric said as he looked up at Calleigh and studied her green eyes.

"Yeah, my eyes but everything else is you, he's so handsome." Calleigh said softly as she looked from the picture up into Eric's eyes. "You can keep that photo if you like." Calleigh said softly and he looked up at her and then nodded.

"How long have you been in Miami for?" Eric asked softly once he'd calmed himself down considerably and placed the photo on the side.

"A couple of days, I've been trying to psych myself up to go into the lab to talk to you, but when I did, Zoë was attacked." She said softly and Eric nodded as he looked down.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted and how I spoke to you Calleigh." Eric said softly as he looked back up to her and then lifted the coffee to his lips. He could feel that he needed an energy boost.

"Don't mention it, I understand, you all reacted the same way - it's what I expected. But I had expected you all to come round to the truth a lot easier. I think I also expected to see that nothing had changed. But everything's changed. Horatio's married and has two babies on the way, I never thought I'd see that day. I didn't see Ryan though, where was he? Why'd it take so much for you all to believe me? I mean, I know that it's slightly hard to believe, but you all refused to accept it." She said softly and Eric nodded as he took a deep breath.

"We've all lost our trust a little in those who we don't know." Eric said softly as he looked down, he didn't really want to get into any of that with her.

"Is Jay in prison?" Calleigh asked and Eric nodded as he sipped his coffee again.

"He killed another girlfriend after we couldn't pin him for your murder… well, your sister's murder, it wasn't until Zoë was with us that she was able to get him to confess and look at both cases with a fresh pair of eyes. She put herself in direct danger to get him." Eric said softly and Calleigh nodded as she looked down and took a deep breath as she pressed her lips together.

"I could have prevented that murder if I had stepped forwards." Calleigh said as she shook her head and sighed.

"Yeah, you could have." Eric said and she looked up at him slightly surprised but she knew that she couldn't get annoyed with him because it was true. She looked back down and picked up the coffee to take a sip before placing it back down and holding it with both hands.

"How long after my disappearance was I replaced?" She asked softly as she looked back up to him.

"You weren't replaced, but H hired Zoë not long after you'd gone." Eric said softly and Calleigh nodded. He then saw the curiousness burst in Calleigh's eyes.

"Did he know her then? Were they in the relationship then?" Calleigh asked and Eric shook his head as he sighed. '_Would they even allow me to talk about them? Calleigh won't hurt either of them. She's not like that. If she's going to be in my life more she's going to need to be caught up to date with most things.'_ Eric thought to himself.

"It was the first time they'd met each other directly, but they've had indirect contact with each other for years without even knowing it." Eric said softly, he didn't want to give Calleigh too much information on them.

"She seems pretty smart." Calleigh said softly as she looked down at the coffee in her hands.

"Smart is an understatement, she's quite literally a genius, she probably has a higher IQ than Walter and I put together. She is a very unique woman and I would advise you to tread carefully around her for now." Eric said softly, but wanted to warn Calleigh so that she wouldn't mess with Zoë.

"Why?" Calleigh asked as she mildly frowned at him and placed a hand on her hip.

"She will mess with you if you upset her, or if you do something she doesn't like. She's exceptional at her mental games and her manipulation skills are so good that you don't even realise she's used them against you. She is very smart, Calleigh. That's only the tip of the ice berg with Zoë." Eric said softly with a small smile.

"She doesn't sound like a very nice person if I'm honest." Calleigh said softly as she crossed her arms and she could feel herself becoming slightly jealous again.

"She's lovely, she really is lovely. She's generous, she's exceptionally compassionate and she's a very loyal friend. You just need to get to know her and you'll see that side of her. She is very defensive towards those she doesn't know and very untrusting, especially if people argue with her when they first meet her or if they make assumptions like thinking she was my girlfriend and not Horatio's wife. So, I wouldn't expect warm hugs and girly talks with her just yet. She's been through a lot in her life, and to get to where she's at now, I applaud her." Eric said softly.

"You sound like her boyfriend…" Calleigh muttered as she lifted the coffee to her lips again.

"I'm telling you how it is, you said she doesn't sound like a nice person, I'm telling you she is. She just doesn't sound like a very nice person right now because you upset her. I'm warning you that if you upset her, you will see her not so lovely side." Eric said as he stood up straight.

"You're very protective of her as well, aren't you?" Calleigh asked softly as she put her coffee down.

"I'm close with both H and Zoë, yes, I may be protective of Zoë but it's an involuntary thing that has developed. I've seen what they've been through together and I will stand by the both of them for as long as they'll allow me. I've seen Zoe die a few times in right front of me… she's saved my life plenty of times and always has my back. So yes, I am protective of her." Eric said softly and Calleigh nodded. '_Well that's a sensitive subject…'_ Calleigh thought to herself as she glanced down to her coffee.

"Is that due to her heart condition?" Calleigh asked curiously and Eric frowned at her. '_How does she know that?'_ Eric questioned himself.

"I heard the doctor and a few others talking about it." Calleigh said softly as she saw that Eric wanted an explanation.

"Not all due to her heart condition." Eric said as he thought about the time he walked into the house and saw Horatio sitting over her body when she'd been poisoned. He swallowed when he felt that same feeling of hurt and dread. He even remembered what she was wearing it became so clear in his mind again. He exhaled violently to rid the horrible memories before he looked back up to Calleigh. "If you're going to be down here a lot more often, you're going to see her a lot more and I advise you that you think about what you say before you say it. Horatio will often give you signals as to whether you're treading on thin ice, and you should listen to those signals." Eric said softly but firmly so she could see the seriousness of the situation.

"I think I can deal with a pregnant hormonal woman Eric, I was one once." She said as she placed her hand on her hip with a raised eyebrow as she tried to pull off a cheeky smile in hope of raising the atmosphere in the room.

"It's more than that, I'm not willing to give you the details as it's personal, but listen to what Horatio is telling you. If he asks you to back off, you do it immediately and don't question." Eric said softly and Calleigh pressed her lips together and frowned mildly.

"Don't you think Horatio is just a little over the top? How is Ryan doing? Was he out on a case earlier? It would be good to see him too, I've missed you all." Calleigh asked and she watched Eric sigh and then shake his head as he looked down. He took a deep breath and then exhaled.

"Don't even go there; the situation between the team is extremely complex. You're not going to see Wolfe as he no longer works with us, please don't question me on why or anyone else for that matter. Horatio is not over the top, in fact, he's quite mellow for what they've been through. If I were in their shoes I'd probably be locked up in a padded cell right now." Eric sighed as he looked up at Calleigh.

"Have things really been that bad?" Calleigh asked as she frowned and crossed her arms.

"Yes, and probably worse than what you're thinking. But then there have been the highest points in our lives in the past two years, so it balances out really. Horatio and Zoë are constant targets of criminals, they probably always will be, that will be something you learn if you're here more." Eric said softly and Calleigh nodded with a small nod. "Anyway, we shouldn't be discussing Horatio and Zoë." Eric sighed as he picked up his coffee and took a few sips.

"I know, how have you been these past two years, have you done anything exciting or anything?" She asked softly.

"I've been good, obviously, your death unsettled me… it unsettled the entire team, but it got easier. I wouldn't say anything exciting has happened as such, the biggest thing that has probably happened was being involved in a plane crash and being stranded on an uninhabited island for a week." Eric said and Calleigh's eyes widened. She looked shocked to say the least.

"Did anyone die? Who else was there?" Calleigh asked with her mouth open slightly.

"The two pilots and the steward died, the plane was sabotaged." Eric sighed softly as he looked at her warmly.

"What about the other passengers?" Calleigh questioned, she looked genuinely concerned.

"It was just the team, Zoë hired a private jet as we had to fly to Brazil to catch Mason Owen; he escaped from prison… He was caught eventually though as we were obviously rescued." Eric said softly and Calleigh nodded. He could still see the shock in her eyes. "You've really missed all the fun Calleigh." Eric said as he looked down to his coffee before he sipped it.

"How much does hiring a private jet cost? She must be in the money." Calleigh said as she raised her eyebrows and leant forwards on the work top.

"I wouldn't imagine it's cheap. I don't know of their money situation, but I know that they're very wealthy; Zoë comes from a very wealthy background and H never seemed bad off himself." Eric said softly as he lifted the mug to his lips and sipped it again.

"What does her family do? Do they have their own business or something?" Calleigh asked softly and Eric could still see the curiousness in her eyes which had him slightly on edge. '_Why is she so interested in Zoë?'_ He thought to himself.

"I'm not saying anything more about Zoë, Calleigh. If and when you get to know her, you can ask her, it's not my place to say anything." Eric said sharply and Calleigh nodded and knew she was pushing it again.

"You're getting defensive again." She mumbled softly as she looked down. He stopped bringing his mug to his lips and looked back up at her. '_What is her problem?'_ Eric questioned himself.

"That's because it's her private life, she doesn't want me to share it with others. I'm not a gossip, I respect her and her wishes." Eric said softly as he put his mug back down on the counter loudly.

"Have you slept with her? Before she and Horatio got together?" Calleigh asked curiously, trying to figure out why he was so protective and defensive of Zoë.

"No, never." Eric said softly and Calleigh nodded, she could see his honesty so was happy. "She and Horatio hit it off pretty much immediately, but it wasn't for a few months where they both realised the other liked the other even though most of Miami could see it, they were blind to it themselves." Eric said softly with a small tender smile. It did make him feel happy to think back and realise that they got together in the end. He knew that they both deserved it.

"What about Ryan? She looks like Ryan's type, I bet he had the eye for her as well and was devastated when she got with Horatio." Calleigh said softly as she looked back up with the mug in her hands.

"I'm not going there." Eric said flatly as he turned and put his mug in the sink. She nodded and immediately knew she was on thin ice. She lightly bit her lip and looked down for a moment. "Anyway, where are you staying and what are you planning on doing now?" Eric asked softly as he turned back around and calmed himself down considerably.

"I was going to stay in another hotel, then go back to California tomorrow; Tyler is missing me." She said softly and Eric nodded with a small smile, but she saw the slight disappointment on his face.

"Are you planning on staying up in California?" Eric asked her softly and she nodded and then saw yet more disappointment in his eyes.

"For the foreseeable future anyway, Tom is in the middle of a contract, he can't leave." Calleigh said softly.

"What does he do?" Eric asked with a slither of curiosity burning in his eyes.

"He's a construction site manager for a few new up and coming buildings." Calleigh replied and Eric nodded as he looked down. '_Much better than a CSI then…'_ Eric thought to himself. "He's really good with Tyler, so you don't need to worry about that. I'd like to bring Tyler down here in a few weeks perhaps, so you could meet him?" She asked and Eric nodded as he looked back up.

"If you need longer than a few weeks then tell me, I don't mind." She said softly.

"I don't know yet, I'll let you know though. I just don't know how long it's going to take for it all to sink in." He said softly and Calleigh nodded and then handed him her number after she wrote it down. He looked at it and then stuck the number to his fridge to remind him to put it into his phone later that day. "What are you doing at the moment? How are you still surviving? I mean, you're technically deceased." Eric asked curiously as he turned back and leant on the counter. He looked a lot more at ease that he had done when he entered his house.

"I'm not working, I use Brynn's name if I absolutely have to, but Tom supports us fully." She said softly and Eric nodded before he took a deep breath.

"We're going to have to sort this mess out. Does your Dad even know you're alive?" Eric questioned as he furrowed his brow, he couldn't believe he was even asking such a question.

"No, I was going to see him after I told you, he doesn't even know that I knew I had a sister. Brynn found me." Calleigh admitted as she looked down. '_She lied to her own father?'_ Eric questioned himself.

"We need to go to the station so you can give your statement and we can then declare Brynn as dead, not you. Obviously people like Frank are going to be questioning, but if you tell them that you don't want to talk about it, they should listen. Or give them a brief explanation. Then you have to tell your Dad." He said softly and she nodded.

"Eric, I want you to know I am truly sorry. I didn't want to ruin your life, I didn't want you to feel pressured into becoming a father, it was my fault; I didn't get the morning after pill after that condom split when I said I would, you even offered to come with me, but I said that it was okay. I was too busy, I should have told you. It completely slipped my mind for the first 2 weeks after, then I realised that I didn't get the morning after pill." She said quietly. '_I remember now, yeah. The condom split and I was going to go with her to get the morning after pill but she insisted that she'd get it on her way to work after stopping off at the shop.'_ Eric thought to himself and then nodded at her.

"Why did you sleep with me if you were with Jay? I thought we could have something, I thought you had feelings for me." He said and Calleigh looked down as she nodded. She pressed her lips together and sighed.

"I know Eric, I did have feelings for you. I still have feelings for you, I always will; you're my baby's father. I slept with you because he was making life difficult and he was convinced I was cheating on him. Eventually, I did cheat on him because he was making life so hard and was already convinced that I was sleeping with someone else so I didn't see the harm in actually cheating if I was being treated like that. You made me feel special Eric, I felt like I was wanted which is why I went back to you time after time. I would have broken it straight off with him if you had actually told me that you wanted me though. I just thought that you wanted a bit of fun, nothing like a relationship." She said as she looked away. He sighed and looked down himself.

"You should have come straight to me Calleigh, why didn't you get out of the relationship if it was that bad?" Eric asked as he looked back up at her with a concerned expression.

"I know I should have gone to you, but I was ashamed; I didn't want to admit that I'd got myself into a mess with a psychotic killer. I was afraid of him at times. You don't know how hard it is to get out of a relationship like that until you've experienced it. Really, you know I'm not one to be pushed around, but he had some sort of invisible hold over me. I wish I had got out of it sooner, I really do, but I couldn't." She said and Eric sighed as he looked down.

"Did he ever hurt you?" Eric asked quietly, but she could hear the slight anger in his voice and she knew he would go to have words with Jay in prison.

"He only used threats and would get in my face to intimidate me, he only hit me once and that was when I kicked him out and then he killed Brynn." Calleigh said as she looked down.

"Oh Cal, you should have come straight to me." He said as he walked around the counter and then gently pulled her closer and gave her a hug.

"I know. Thank you Eric." She said as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Come on, we're sorting this mess out now." Eric said softly and Calleigh nodded as she pulled back.

"We don't have to tell anyone that Tyler is yours, or just yet anyway if you don't want to." She said softly as she looked up to him while they walked out and to Eric's car.

"I think we'll leave that story for another time, telling everyone that you're alive will be a shock enough." He replied and she nodded as she looked down with a small smile.

"I've missed you Eric." She admitted as she looked back up at him with a brilliant smile.

"I've missed you too, Calleigh." He replied as they got into his car.

XXXXXXXX

Alexx stood before Eric and Calleigh, looking exceptionally shocked after Calleigh had given Alexx a brief description of what happened and how she's alive.

"It really is you, Calleigh?" Alexx questioned, she still couldn't quite believe her and she nodded at Alexx with a warm smile.

"DNA has confirmed it." Eric said softly and Alexx looked back to Calleigh and furrowed her brow. '_Oh my gosh, it really is her!'_ Alexx thought to herself.

"Calleigh, we've all missed you." Alexx said as she stepped forwards and gave her a light hug.

"I've missed you all too." She said as they broke from the hug. Alexx didn't know what to feel, she was happy, confused, excited and slightly distrustful of Calleigh all at once.

"Who else knows?" Alexx asked as she stepped back and looked to Eric from Calleigh. She simply didn't know what to do with herself.

"Everyone now, I've just got to go and find my Dad now." She said softly and Alexx nodded as he looked back to Calleigh with a mild frown.

"Does Horatio know?" Alexx asked and Calleigh nodded as she looked to the floor with a sigh.

"He's not exactly happy though." Calleigh said softly and Alexx nodded when Calleigh looked back up at her.

"Don't take that personally Calleigh, he's in defence mode. He's going to be a father and you know that Horatio is naturally protective. He's extra protective over Zoë, it's not just you." Alexx said softly and Calleigh nodded with a small smile.

"Eric's given me the update." She said softly and Alexx nodded and then looked to Eric. '_Just how much has he told her? I hope he's not told her too much, they won't be pleased with him otherwise.'_ Alexx thought to herself.

"Will you be back with us?" Alexx asked softly when she looked back to Calleigh.

"No, sorry Alexx, I'm living in California, I just couldn't live with myself anymore knowing what happened and having you all think I was dead." She said softly and Alexx nodded and pressed her lips together for a brief second. She could see that Alexx didn't know what to think and Calleigh didn't blame her, she'd be the same if anyone else had done the same thing.

"Keep in touch though?" Alexx asked and Calleigh nodded with a small smile appearing.

"Of course I will." She said softly and Alexx nodded. Calleigh then got a phone call and said bye to Alexx when it was Tom calling, she knew that Tyler wanted to talk to her. Eric followed her out after giving Alexx a nod.

'_I'm unsure if this day has been one big dream, or if it really happened. I have a son?' _Eric thought to himself.

XXXXXXXXX

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Horatio questioned Zoë when she took a deep breath. She glanced up at him and nodded with a warm smile while she sat between his legs and laid back on him on the sofa.

"Are you okay?" Zoë asked and Horatio nodded. "Are you sure? You seemed quite shocked with what Calleigh said." She said quietly.

"I was shocked, the Calleigh I knew years back didn't pass judgement on anyone and wasn't rude at all. 2 years may have changed her, but I think she was jealous more than anything so that's why she said the things she did." Horatio said gently as he began to rub her belly.

"Why is she jealous?" Zoë questioned.

"I think she's jealous of the friendship you have with Eric, the fact that you're my wife and we have two babies on the way?" Horatio said softly.

"Why would she be jealous of that?" Zoë questioned.

"I'm not sure, I'm just guessing. I was good friends with her, she never saw me happy with any woman, all I ever did was work. Perhaps she's a little jealous that you've managed to change who I am? She always tried to include me on the team outings, I never went. It might also be the fact that I hired you after she left… she could be thinking that I replaced her cold-heartedly and then fell in love with you. There's many reasons." Horatio said warmly and Zoë nodded.

"Did you ever like her more than a colleague?" Zoë asked bluntly and he shook his head.

"No, we were good friends but only at work, I never spoke to anyone outside of work. It was just professional with all of us. Calleigh is definitely not my type." Horatio said and Zoë began to smile at him.

"What is your type then?" Zoë questioned.

"Well… my only type is a very sexy, beautiful woman who has long brown hair, brown eyes with a wicked personality and a rather large belly at the moment. Also, she's married… so I guess that's my type." Horatio replied quietly, seductively.

"WHAT? Who is she?!" Zoë shouted at she sat up and turned to him.

"Zoë" Horatio said as he sat forwards and took hold of her hands just as she began to cry. "Zoë, I'm talking about you sweetheart, think about it. You know you're the only woman in my eyes, you know I only love you and that I'll lever leave you." Horatio said warmly as he sat forwards and cupped her cheek. She looked at him for a few minutes. '_Well… that didn't work out as well as I had hoped…'_ Horatio sighed to himself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think…" she said quietly as she looked at him with gentle eyes.

"You need to stop worrying about stuff like that sweetheart." Horatio said warmly and she nodded.

"I know, I just didn't even include myself in what you were describing me even though it was clearly obvious with the big belly comment." She said as she looked down to his lap with a smile tugging at her lips.

"Did I forget to mention that I love her with all my heart and always will?" Horatio questioned and she began to grin as she gently pushed him back and laid back down on him, on her side.

"We love you with all 3 of our hearts and always will. Horatio, you're turning me on again." She said as she looked at him with sweet eyes.

"What am I doing?" Horatio asked confused as he could hear the slight whinge in her voice about it. He knew she was tired and didn't want to go another round.

"You're just being you." She grinned at him while she big her lip.

"There isn't much I can do about that, sweetheart." Horatio replied with a grin as she placed a hand over her belly.

"I wonder how Eric's doing?" she questioned as she looked back to the TV as if their entire conversation path had just changed.

"Okay, I hope, I'm sure he'll update us soon. It's going to be a massive shock to him." Horatio said and Zoë nodded.

"I'd say… he's just found out he's got a son! Eric… and a son? Wow, who'd have thought it? He'd make a great father though. Not as great as the handsome Daddy that I'm sitting on though." She grinned at him and then moved to gently kiss him.

"Ouch! Your daughters have just punched both of my lungs and ribs I think…" Zoë said as she began to rub her stomach which caused Horatio to chuckle lightly. She smiled at him and then put her head down on his shoulder. "I'm just so glad today is over and done with." She said, changing the subject once more.

"I am too, sweetheart." Horatio agreed as he began to play with her hair and rub her stomach.

"Let's hope that nothing else remotely bad happens ever again… I just want our daughters here with us now." Zoë said as she began to run her hand over his chest.

"We'll have them with us in about 16 weeks, that's not too long to go now." Horatio said warmly and she nodded with a smile before she kissed him again and went back to relaxing with him.

The End

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**Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Despite having written over 30 stories now... I still can't quite master endings! Next story is "Only Human" - first chapter will be posted on Monday (busy weekend). **


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